FFXI: Sogre's Story
by Argos
Summary: The world is being enveloped in darkness! One Tarutaru shall rise up against the odds and become a Summoner. Together with his band of friends he meets he will awaken the slumbering gods of Vana 'diel and defeat the shadow lord. R&R please!
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: This is my first fanfic for the most part this story is based off of true adventures I went on while exploring and playing FFXI. I hope you all enjoy it! There is going to be much more to come! The first ten chapters are merely character development and really do not need to be read in chronological order (I haven't decided whether I was going to post Chapter 5 and 7 yet since I don't want to confuse anyone since 2, 3 ,4 and 6 aren't up. At any rate Chapter 2 will be up soon so I hope you all enjoy and write nice reviews! Constructive criticism is always welcomed :) Oh yeah and I own nothing bit the game lol

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_1_

_The Prologue:_

_Prelude to a Dream_

_We all are connected even if it doesn not appear so. The world is immense but when you look at the sky you know you're connected because they're gezing upon the sky too, the same sky connecting the world to one another, as long as the sky remains you'll never be seperated even long after you've forgotten. As the sky remains so too does the connection and the bond._

_This tale takes place on one of the many worlds. This is the tale of a Tarutaru, at least this is just the beginning of his story. The Crystal War has ended and times are slowly returning back to normal; murder, rape, thievery and piracy are becoming less common with each passing day. Little did this Tarutaru know that his actions would not only shape his destiny but also that of those around him and his country._

_The magical Federation of Windurst, protected by the Great Star Sibyll and the Great Star Tree, was home to the cat-like race of Mithra and the highly intelligent midget child-like race the Tarutaru. During the war the Federation was nearly destroyed but the Mithra came from across the seas to lend aid to the Tarutaru. Towards the end of the war a hero emerged and saved Windurst, the Hero of Windurst conjured up a powerful beast that was able to destroy the Beastmen armies that had invaded Windurst. However, in order to conjure the beast the Hero had to sacrifice his own life._

This day was no different than any other day, three youngsters were out in the Sarutabaruta; the grasslands that surrounded the federation. Two Tarutaru and a Mithra were sunbathing. There was a Tarutaru with a blue top-knot, a Tarutaru with silver hair and almond colored eyes and a Mithra with short pink-white hair pulled to the back. The Tarutaru with the top-knot was called Gehe, the Tarutaru with silver hair: Sogre and the Mithra was called Mixo. These three friends were laying on Starfock Hill basking in the warmth of the sun as the wind blew about sparingly on this fine summer day. Gehe, who was particularly mischievous, sat up "Sogre did you pass the Onion Brigade test?" Gehe asked smirking as he polished his new Onion Brigade badge. "No, I didn't make the cut." Sogre replied dryly. "He lost his nerrrve when he was sent into Giddeus to rrretrrrieve a yagudo tail feather." Mixo interjected as she stretched out in the grass, the sun warming her fur. After hearing this Gehe burst into hysterical laughter. "Sogre chucked a stone at Gehe's head. "Shut up! I was about to close in on one of them…" "He trrried to sneak up on a hatchling." Mixo interjected which further fueled Gehe's laughter. Soon all three of them were laughing.

_For those who do not know, the Yagudo is a race of ruthless bird-like beastmen. Adult yagudo stand roughly at eight feet tall, they have razor sharp talons that can cut through flesh as if it were tissue. They live in a canyon north west of Windurst called Giddeus, there they planned their attack on the Tarutaru during the war but now they just nest there biding their time for when they will unleash their next attack._

Soon after the laughing fit ended Gehe broke the silence, "Let's go check out Giddeus." Mixo was intrigued by this proposal because she had never ventured into Giddeus before. "I'll go, Sogrrre arrre you up for a little adventurrre?" Sogre stood up and looked the sun sinking behind Tahrongi Canyon. "Yeah, sure, let's go!" exclaimed Sogre as he started down the hill, the three friends began to walk towards the Yagudo settlement in the west. They made their way down the dirt trail through the meadows to Giddeus when they were stopped by an elderly Tarutaru War Warlock of Windurst.

"What-taru are you three doing?" "We're walking here! It's a free federation you geezer." replied Gehe. This disrespect flustered the old Tarutaru "Why you little…" Mixo looking concerned (and quite often the voice of reason) interjected at this point and whispered to Sogre "Should we do something?" Sogre stared at the two Tarutarus, now exchanging various insults "Nah once Gehe gets doing there is no stopping him." Sogre sighed. After a few more insults were exchanged and Gehe stole the Tarutaru's helmet the old War Warlock gave up and left them heading back to town while mumbling unpleasant words about Gehe. "Hey guys look at what the old fart 'dropped'." Gehe chucked as he displayed the old Tarutaru's gil purse, Sogre and Mixo merely sighed

It was dusk when they got to the outer limits of the meadowy Sarutabaruta. Giddeus was a mountainous region; the yagudo carved their nests into the rock. The three friends entered and proceeded with both wonderment and the utmost caution, encountering a yagudo guard in the shadows of the entrance tunnel sounded like the least fun thing in the world to do. As they crept through the cave with Mixo leading (Mithra were able to see in the dark) Gehe whispered "Hey supposedly there's an entrance to an ancient battlefield deep in Giddeus, there is a lot of treasure in it. How about we find it?" Mixo and Sogre agreed that it might be fun to hunt for. Soon they left the darkness of the tunnel and emerged in a clearing, there was some grass but mostly rocky ground and there was a small drinking pond in the center that glistened in the silver moon light. They examined Giddeus, the Yagudo not only carved nests in the rock but they also made bridges that allowed them to go from nest to nest with out having to touch the ground, in addition to the bridges there were trails leading from the ground to the nests built high into the rock. Then next to the pond was a path that lead deeper into Giddeus. Gehe started down that path and made a notion for Sogre and Mixo to follow, as they walked down it Sogre's heart dropped as he saw two Yagudo walking towards them, Gehe and Mixo exchanged worried looks with Sogre, they turned around and tried to creep back towards the clearing but they were stopped by two more Yagudo. Sogre, Mixo and Gehe realized that there was no escape from this predicament. They exchanged panicked looks that even in the moon light were clearly visible, they realized that the game was over; no more pretend, their very lives were in danger.

The Yagudo approached the three friends baring their talons getting ready to strike. "This doesn't look good for us, we have to fight or else we'll die!" shouted Gehe as he drew his dagger from its leather holdster. "Sogrrre he's rrright you know, we must fight." "Yeah I know that but… Gehe watch out!" Sogre exclaimed. Sogre ran up to the yagudo and drove his dagger into the back of the Yagudo that had snuck up on Gehe which was ready to strike, the yagudo's warm blood gushed from the wound onto Sogre's cold hands, the beast fell instantly. "Thanks man." Gehe said. Another Yagudo had lunged towards Gehe; he parried the beastman's talons with his dagger then dealt it a fatal wound in its neck, the beastman fell down writhing in pain as its life juice oozed from its body. "Therrres too many!" Mixo cried. "MIxo, Sogre use the magic you learned in school!" Gehe cried as he was fending off more yagudo that had arrived to aid their fallen comrades.

In all honesty Sogre didn't pay too much attention than Gehe in class, learning only a few spells but Mixo on the other hand gave up her mischievous ways and focused on the art of black magic which, she utilized quite well. Mixo closed her eyes and began to chant a spell, the air around her howled and the eerie presence of magic could be felt in the air. Sogre covered Mixo, if a Yagudo attacked her while she was casting the results could be disastrous, Gehe continued to fend off Yagudo with his dagger. Three yagudo jumped from the upper level onto them, Sogre engaged one and Gehe took the other two. Then the wind let out a great howl as Mixo unleashed her spell, the water from the pond came to their aid; Mixo manipulated the water flow so it attacked the yagudo slamming them hard onto the rock ground knocking them unconscious. While the yagudo were immobilized Gehe slashed the throats to the yagudo in one clean cut each. Sogre saw his friend in a new light now as the yagudo blood trickled off of Gehe's dagger onto the ground. "Looks like we got all of them." Gehe cheered. "Over there!" Sogre exclaimed pointing up the trail. More yagudo were coming down the ramps from the upper burrows. "Rrrun!" Mixo shouted as she ran back towards the entrance. Sogre ran after her as Gehe ran towards the yagudo. "What are you doing? Sogre cried. "Go on ahead bud, I'll be fine, they won't even touch me you'll see." Gehe flashed one last grin at Sogre before he ran towards the yagudo. "I'll see you later!" Sogre shouted, and then he followed Mixo down the path. Sogre took one last took at Gehe and miraculously the yagudo were not able to touch him like he had said, Gehe was dodging every attack the yagudo dealt him, Sogre was dumbstruck.

Sogre caught up with Mixo who asked where Gehe was but Sogre only shook his head. The two made their way back town the dark tunnel, Mixo howled in pain half way through the tunnel. A flash of light had struck Mixo and she fell to her knees, she had become immobilized. "No! Mixo you have to get up!" Sogre tried to help her up but she was bound by a magical force. A yagudo shaman made its way down the tunnel to where Mixo and Sogre stood. "Now you two shall die!" it said in a raspy voice, then it began to chant a spell. In return Sogre too chanted a spell, in a few seconds the tunnel was ablaze in light and the armor of the yagudo melted away leaving it open to an attack. Sogre charged at the yagudo and he thrust his dagger into the yagudo's breast, it let out a screech and then it stopped and fell to the floor lifeless. More yagudo were heard entering the tunnel from a distance. "Sogrrre…rrrun and go get help!" Mixo cried. "No I won't leave you here to die!" Sogre replied. Then in an instant Mixo fell prey to an arrow, she fell instantly. Sogre let out a fierce cry and began to chant a minor healing spell he had learned. "Sogrrre….rrrrun…" Mixo gasped as she sank into unconsciousness. The Yagudo crowded around them and began to claw and tear at Sogre, they cut into his flesh, tore his clothes and beat him into submission, before he lost consciousness he saw a barrage of arrows strike the yagudo and a Mithran Ranger saying "Hold on!" and then there was complete and total nothingness.

The there was a sweet voice that called down to him followed by a white light. _"Sogre…you mustn't give up…Vana 'diel needs you…your friends need you…"_

"Will he be ok doctorrr?"

"Perhaps-taru, those Yagudo really tore-taru him up-taru."

"Maybe playing in Giddeus wasn't such a great idea…"

"Mmm….uh."

A Tarutaru with shimmering silver hair and almond eyes stirred in the white bed sheets. He opened his eyes and looked up, he saw a Mithra with pink-white hair pulled back and a Tarutaru with a dark blue top knot talking to an elderly male Tarutaru wearing a white robe outlined in red stitching and leather straps. Sogre stirred in the bed and then sat up. "What happened to us? I thought we…died." The elderly Tarutaru chuckled "Ohohoho good heavens-taru no! Another adventurer brought you three back here in critical condition-taru." Mixo stepped forward "Yes it was a Mithrrran Rrranger. She came to ourrr rrrescue, she finished off the yagudo that was left and then warrrped us back here." Gehe walked to Sogre's bedside "That was some adventure eh?" Gehe nudged Sogre in the side hard. "Yeah, but lets not go back to Giddeus for a while ok?" Sogre said smiling, Mixo and Gehe agreed whole heartily, they thought one near-death experience was enough for now. The elderly Tarutaru, Mixo and Gehe left shortly afterwards to let Sogre sleep, Sogre replayed the events that occurred the previous day in his mind once more "I promise I won't ever let my friends get hurt that badly again, one day I'll be strong enough to protect them all."

Sogre woke up the next day in his own home, his moogle greeted him warmly

_Moogles are friendly creatures, generally every adventurer is given a moogle to take care of their home and weapons and armor while they are away. They serve as butlers and they are very docile and non aggressive. They are generally very small with either pink or white fur and little wings._

"Master-kupo! I hope you're feeling much better this find morning kupopo!" "Yes much better today Mr. Moogle." Sogre got out of his bed and walked to the dining area in the center of his little Mog House. There was not much furniture there, a table for eating a few chairs to sit in and a few cabinets and food storage units in the corner. Sogre had a hearty meal of fried Popotos and a stick of delectable meat-mith kabobs, which were rumored to enhance your strength and determination. Sogre noticed that there was a letter attached to the oak cabinet in the corner, he picked it up and read it:

'Sogrrre wearrr yourrr adveturrring clothes today we'rrre going to explorrre the canyon!'

'Dude meet us at the fountain in Windurst Woods around midday, bring some grub too because we'll be out way late.'

-Mixo & Gehe

After reading this Sogre put the letter down and took his leather armor out of the closet, it didn't provide much protection but it was much better than regular clothes. He looked at his tattered clothing that was hanging next to it. His kaftan was torn almost beyond repair, there were talon and claw marks all over it, his gloves were unusable, his breeches had numerous holes and one particularly large one in the butt and he lost one of his boots somewhere. After he got dressed he grabbed some more kabobs and a few bottles of pineapple juice with a slice of pie and then he was off.

_The Federation of Windurst is an area of great magic. The city itself is divided into four sectors: Woods Waters Walls and Port. The port is where merchant ships dock so people can buy goods; there are also warehouses to store goods. This is also the home to most of the fishermen in the Federation and the Air Travel Agency is also located here. Windurst Walls is home to most of the political figures in the Federation, connected by numerous bridges over the lake it was built on top of however, there are still pillars of land on which the homes for people were built upon. In the center is the Great Star Tree and at the very top lives the Star Sibyll; protector of Windurst. In Windurst Waters was the academy of magic where young Tarutaru and Mithra go to learn basic magic. Also, Waters is where the majority of the shops and restaurants are, in Lower Waters resides the advanced magic shop where only those who receive special permission from the Grand Duchy of Jeuno are able to purchase the high level magic spells and a clothing shop. Windurst Woods is the area of Windurst where the Mithra live, that sector is covered by trees which imitate a grove of greenery, and at the center is a beautiful fountain that was made up ivory and is said to pump the freshest purest water from the center of Vana 'diel._

Sogre left his home in Waters and walked briskly through the hub-bub of the town, he saw mothers bidding their children a good day at the academy, it was not that long ago that Sogre graduated from the academy. He walked through the town stopping periodically to talk to other Tarutaru that expressed concern for him or questioned him about the other day. As he was walking into the Port sector he was stopped by a Taru Scout (which is a Tarutaru in normal clothing just wearing a green hat and a red sash.) "Sogre, here take this!" the little Tarutaru said as he took a badge out of his pocket and handed it to Sogre. Sogre examined the pink badge shaped like a star and realized what it was. "I'm in the brigade?" he said excitedly. The little Tarutaru nodded his head. "It's from your recent romp with the Yagudo in Giddeus." "Thanks a lot!" Sogre said as he pinned it to his vest. The little Tarutaru ran off and Sogre continued to the Port where the sun shined the brightest in the federation. Numerous fishermen lined the piers of the port, this was a very good spot for fishing, the Fishing Guild across Vana 'diel had a contest: "He who catches 10,000 moat carps will win a legendary prize!"

_Moat Carp is a rare fish that is quite delicious. The prize was said to be a legendary fishing rod that was said to have caught the great Leviathan itself on its lure._

Sogre realizing that he was going to be late, he went from a brisk walk to a steady run passing by the other citizens. Sogre stopped briefly at the travel agency to watch the airships take off. "One day" he thought "one day I'm going to take that airship and fly away and go on great and awesome adventures." Sogre often imagined himself as a powerful magician vanquishing strange beasts and saving princesses and other times he saw himself as a valiant knight protecting his friends from dangerous foes.

_Airships resemble very big boats from our world with propellers attached to give them flight._

"Grr where is that lump!" Gehe exclaimed angrily. "Therrre he is!" Mixo pointed at Sogre running towards them. "S…sorry I'm…..late" he panted. "MIXO!" a young Mithra shouted with obvious anger as she walked towards them. "What is it Ciarrr?" Ciar was a year younger than Mixo with red hair put up into a bun; she had always been interested in adventuring but never succeeded in going on an actual adventure. "You said I could go with you today!" she said angrily. "Well…I…you see…" Mixo stammered. "Aw go away you pesky kitten! You'll just ruin the experience for the rest of us." Gehe interjected. Ciar was stunned. "Who do you think you'rrre talking to rrrunt?" Ciar exclaimed furiously. Gehe and Ciar stared at each other harshly while Mixo stood on the side watching unsure of what would happen next. "Ciar it'll be very dangerous if you come with us, how about you come with us on our next adventure when we're stronger and more able to protect you?" Sogre said. Ciar looked thoughtfully at him and said "Aww fine you win but, if you don't keep yourrr prrromise POW! Right to the moon!" making a punching motion while giving Sogre a wink. "All right it's a deal." Sogre said as he smiled at her. With that being said Ciar walked back to her hut as Mixo, Sogre, and Gehe walked towards the city gate.

Tahrongi Canyon was northwest of the sarutabaruta; it was an extremely long hike. The three friends began their journey talking about how much fun it would be to play in the canyon. They had never really been to Tahrongi Canyon before usually the monsters were too powerful and prevented them from reaching the canyon however, they were much stronger now and the fiends didn't even seem to notice them. Around dusk the three friends sat alongside the river bank and enjoyed the food they had brought with them for the trip. They talked light heartily about the events that had transpired only a day before in Giddeus, and how much fun it would be to go back after they had become first class adventurers. After finishing their meal they continued their journey, talking about how good the food tasted as it warmed their bellies. It was nightfall when they approached the tall stone mountainous ripple in the earth known as Tahrongi Canyon, even at night the air was dry. They entered the canyon and no one was around, the place was deserted except for the howl of the monsters in the distance.

_The canyon itself was ancient, once it stood as a proud plateau until an earthquake had ravaged the region and creating the canyon as a side effect. Another theory is that the mountains past the canyon and the present day canyon were once a great mountain that was destroyed due to natural disasters. _

The three friends frolicked in the canyon, climbing rocks, chasing each other around and then playing a rigorous game of hide and seek in which Gehe always won because he always found good hiding spots, Gehe was even courageous enough to climb on top of a dhamel and ride around on it. Later that night they camped out in the center of the canyon under the stars. "The canyon is huge." Gehe said staring up into the night sky. "Yeah, hey guys" Sogre began "do you think that there are other worlds out there?" "What do you mean Sogrrre?" Mixo asked "I mean a world like ours except…different." "Who knows, probably." Gehe answered and with that they all fell asleep and they didn't discuss it again.

Morning came all too quickly for them. The sun had crept over the tall stone ridges of the canyon. The sun met eye-to-eye with Sogre, who woke unwillingly. He yawned as he stirred but woke immediately when he saw that he was only inches away from the face of a great big caterpillar like monster. Sogre shouted and woke Gehe and Mixo. "What the hell dude? Gehe said as he reluctantly sat up, his attitude suddenly changed when he saw the crawler. "Hey!" he exclaimed happily "it's a crawler! Let's kill it." Gehe said as he drew his dagger from his belt. "Why do you want to kill it? It has a right to live as we do." Sogre said "The silk that their body excretes is worth a nice big bag of gil! When did you become such a puss Sogre?" Gehe replied. "I'm not, whatever, if you want to kill it be my guest I'm going for a walk." Sogre said as he walked away.

Sogre thought about the conversation they had the other night, he wondered about the possibility that there were indeed other worlds out there like his own. After pondering and walking around Sogre came to a big stone altar in the center of the canyon, at the center of the altar was a very large glowing cerulean blue crystal. Sogre approached it mystified.

"_Touch the crystal to open the gate." _A voice told him.

Sogre touched the great blue crystal and as he did so it began to glow brighter and brighter until there was a great flash of blue light, his body was flowing with energy, Sogre had never felt so alive. The blue light began to fade and the warmness that the light had provided Sogre with was fading as well. "Sogrrre!" Mixo cried as he was walking down the stone steps of the altar. "What wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Sogre said. "It's…Gehe…" Mixo panted struggling to catch her breath, all the color had drained from her usually cheerful face. "What about Gehe?" Sogre asked, his voice trembling with concern. "He…he's poisoned!"

Sogre and Mixo ran back to camp where they found an intoxicated Gehe writhing on the rocky ground in pain. "The crrrawlerrr poisoned him, he's getting worse. Can you cleanse his body of the poison Sogrrre?" Mixo asked. Sogre knelt down next to Gehe to examine the state his friend was in "No...I can't cleanse his body, I can restore energy and treat wounds but I'm not able to cleanse the body." Sogre said sadly. "So what are we going to do? Just sit here and let him die?" cried Mixo. Sogre began to think, Windurst was much too far from the canyon and Gehe would never make the trip, at that moment Sogre remembered that there was a town close by on the peninsula. "We'll bring him to Mhaura. I'm sure we can buy some medicine for him there or at least find someone to cleanse his body." Mixo nodded and put Gehe on her back, Mixo despite being female was stronger than Sogre so she agreed to carry Gehe as long as Sogre was able to protect them both from fiends. If they wanted to save Gehe they would have to move quickly. Sogre and Mixo rushed towards the east gradually putting the rocky canyon to their backs and entering the coastal region known as Buburimu Peninsula.

_Long ago Buburimu was believed to have been under water but after The Crystal War the howling of a great beast was rumored to have made the sea pull back in fear allowing the peninsula to be populated._

Mixo and Sogre rushed to Mhaura as quickly as they could (Mhaura was on the southern part of the peninsula.) Gehe's state was steadily getting worse and worse with each passing moment. Gehe had a fever and he was slowly slipping off the mortal coil, the poison was working its way into his system. Sogre and Mixo noticed the increase of his state and quickened, about half way there they were stopped by a band of goblins. "Watch out! Get out of our way!." Sogre shouted as he and Mixo approached the goblins, the goblins looked at the two and dismissed Sogre's shouting. Mixo and Sogre stopped in front of the band because they were blocking the trail. "Please move out of the way." Mixo pleaded as she adjusted Gehe on her back. Gehe began to mumble to himself. The goblins just looked at Mixo as if she had sprouted a second hand. One very nasty looking goblin stepped forward, he was wearing armor forged from dark steel and wielded a scimitar which had a curved blade making it all the more deadly. "You funny Mithra" he spoke through his helmet, Mixo and Sogre nearly gagged at the creature's foul breath, it reeked of onions and garlic. "We no move, we here first!" the goblin continued to say. "Please our frrriend is dying we need to get him to the doctorrr in Mhaurrra." Mixo pleaded, tears forming in her beautiful blue eyes. "Too bad for you, we no move!" The goblin reiterated waving around that rusty scimitar. "Get out of our way." Sogre said calmly as he pointed his bronze sword at the goblin. The band broke into hysterical laughter. "You puny Tarutaru we teach you manners!" the goblin said as the band began to form a circle around Sogre. "Mixo keep going to Mhaura, I'll cover you." Sogre said as he got on his guard. "Sogrrre therrres too many of them, therrre is no way you can do it alone." Mixo said fighting back tears. "Mixo" Sogre began "don't worry I'll be fine there isn't a need to cry, go to Mhaura and find the doctor I'll be along as soon as I take care of these gobbies." Sogre said flashing Mixo a smile. Mixo knew Gehe needed serious medical attention, the poison was already working its way into his heart and if it reached his heart then there would be no hope for him. With a heavy heart Mixo took off faster than she had ever ran before quickly putting Sogre and the band of goblins to her back.

_The clouds above Buburimu swirled and the air cracked with the sound of thunder, shortly after it began to rain. The rain defeated the dryness in the air but with the dryness leaving the humidity rose making it harder and harder to breathe._

Five goblins surrounded Sogre.

Five goblins stood in front of him reaching Mhaura.

Five goblins prevented him from helping his friend.

Five goblins, one Tarutaru.

The day in Giddeus replayed itself in Sogre's mind. He was helpless to defend his friends that day from the yagudo and now he was helpless once more. Blood pumped through his body, his anger intensified, and his whole body was burning with rage. One goblin approached him from the circle that surrounded him and it was the biggest mistake of that goblin's pitiful life. Sogre took the goblin's head off with one clean, strong swipe of his sword; the goblin didn't even feel it. Its head rolled off its shoulders and onto the ground, blood slowly oozing out of it the helmet. Its eyes looked up at Sogre still, even though there was no life left in them. Water mixed with sweat on Sogre's brow did not prevent him for one moment from dropping the next goblin that approached him.

Goblin number two approached slowly and hesitantly. This goblin was smarter than the last because it did not charge in at Sogre with out analyzing the situation unlike its predecessor. Sogre took one step towards the goblin, it retreated one step. Sogre lowered his sword and began to talk to himself. The goblins recognized his speech as the language of magic and before the goblin could react the water from the rain swelled around it and the goblin was pelted with small yet powerful balls of water. It fell to the ground with at least a dozen holes in its chest; blood slowly poured from each hole and shortly a large puddle of blood was underneath that poor bastard of a goblin.

Goblin number three turned and tried to run away from the battle, Sogre saw this and his anger got the best of him. He chased after the goblin and with one clean swipe severed the beasts' spine, the goblin let out a piercing scream as spinal fluid mixed with blood oozed out of its back. Sogre turned around and looked at the two remaining goblins; one was the leader the other just another minion.

Goblin number four, perhaps the most daring of them all. Sogre walked towards this goblin slowly, the goblin in return did nothing. Sogre got closer and closer with just one thought in his mind; he wanted that goblin's head. The goblin was within range of being attacked with his sword when Sogre stopped walking. There was something odd about this goblin, it was sure as dumb as any other goblin but this one seemed somehow clever, it reached into its pack as it flashed Sogre a smirk of self satisfaction. Sogre couldn't possibly fathom what this goblin had in its pack until he saw it; a black ball made of iron with a string protruding from the ball. The goblin took out a match and lit it on fire and began to laugh. It was a bomb! Sogre started to back away but it was far too late the bomb had been lit it would go off at any second. The goblin advanced a few steps where as Sogre retreated; the goblin wound up and threw the bomb at Sogre. Sogre in turn thought quickly and pelted the bomb back at the goblin using his sword as a kind of bat. The goblin gave off one horrified look before it was blown into the afterlife.

Goblin number five: the general. Sogre slowly walked past the charred remains of the previous goblin that tried to get in his way. It smelled of burned flesh and gunpowder, you could still make out the goblin's last expression it had before the other half of its face was blown off; it was mortally afraid. Sogre sensed the general goblin's anger, he went on his guard as the goblin leaped at him; the two warriors crossed blades. "You not so puny after all." The goblin grunted at Sogre as he jumped back. Sogre then was on the offense, he slashed at the goblin but the goblin was able to parry Sogre's attack every time. "Grrr, hold still damn you!" Sogre said through gritted teeth, the goblin merely gave him a mocking smile. The two fighters continued to fight locking swords each and every time, on occasion one would break through the other's defense only for the opponent to parry the attack.

_The rain fell down harder and the thunder grew louder. Sogre was fully visible in the flashes of lightning across the now night sky. He was no longer a cheerful little Tarutaru he now stood as a warrior fighting for his life._

Sogre over grown with anger focused all his energy into one attack, he charged at the goblin and slashed the goblin so hard its scimitar broke in half and the blade went straight through it. The sword blade was glowing red with heat. The rain washed the blood and sweat off of his face, when he just realized what had happened he sheathed his sword and began walking towards Mhaura with a little bit less of himself than what he had began with.

Five dead goblins, one living, merciless Tarutaru.

The rain poured down outside, towns people were rushing to get into their homes. Mixo looked outside the window concerned for Sogre. Gehe had been treated by a local doctor and was now peacefully sleeping in a hotel bed. The ferry to Valkurm had been cancelled due to the storm; no one knew when it would end. Images of Sogre being surrounded by the goblins flowed back to her mind then images of him being killed flooded in and replaced the previous images. Mixo shuddered from the cold brought on by her concern. She decided that she needed fresh air so she stepped outside the two story hotel. The cool night's air helped clear her mind; she no longer found images of Sogre being killed in her mind instead she just looked onward at the raging sea. As Mixo stood at the dock admiring the powerful yet gentle churning of the waves she did not see a Tarutaru with silver hair sneak up behind her. "Sogrrre!" Mixo exclaimed. Mixo almost didn't recognize her friend, his usually silver hair was caked in mud and his clothes drenched from a combination of blood, sweat and rain. "Yeah it's me." He responded clearly exhausted. "How's Gehe?" he asked. "He's well, the doctor immediately rrremoved the poison." Mixo said as they walked towards the hotel. "Herrre lets get some rrrest." She said as she closed the door to the hotel behind them.

_The three friends slept peacefully not knowing that they would be separated soon and their lives changed forever._

Morning came and the rain stopped. The sun began to dry the docks and the buildings of Mhaura. The ferry was back in business so adventurers could travel between Mhaura and Selbina. Mixo, Sogre and Gehe woke up around midday and Sogre relayed how he fought valiantly against the goblins and Mixo, in turn relayed how they got to Mhaura and how she found the doctor who also referred them to this hotel, Gehe of course, didn't remember any of this. "The ferry's running again want to go for a ride before we head back to Windurst?" Gehe asked cheerfully. No one would have been able to guess that he just had a recent brush with death. The thing about Gehe is that he loved life and he did not care whether he lived or died as long as he had a good time and he enjoyed himself. "Sure." Sogre said. Gehe and Sogre turned to Mixo who winced at the suggestion. "Sorrry guys I don't think I'm up for this adventure, I'm going back to Windurrrst but I'll tell everyone that you two arrre alrrright and that you'll be back soon." Gehe agreed to that but Sogre pleaded with Mixo to go on the ferry with them but she resisted and he eventually gave in.

When the ferry came at dusk the three friends departed, Mixo stayed long enough to watch her two friends sail away into a whole new adventure while she was left all alone walking back to Windurst. Mixo stole one last glance at the departing ship and then ran off through the city gates back into the peninsula.

Gehe and Sogre sat in the hold of the ship talking about what could lie on the other side of the sea. "What do you think is over there?" Sogre asked excitedly. "Hmm let's check out this map I 'borrowed' from the hotel." Gehe reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment folded over many times. Gehe unfolded the parchment and pointed to their location; currently the ship was crossing the Bastokan Sea. "Ok, this ship goes to Selbina then from Selbina is the Valkurm Dunes which is a desert I guess, to the north is the Kingdom of San'd Oria and to the south is the Republic of Bastok." Gehe said reading off of the map. "I want to go to San'd Oria." Sogre said. "Well then how about after we return to Windurst we pack up and head back out for the new areas we haven't yet explored?" proposed Gehe. "Sure sounds like a plan! But, can Mixo come as well?" Sogre asked. The expression on Gehe's face dropped "Why do you need that Mithra to come too? Why can't it be just you and me huh?" demanded Gehe. Sogre stammered for a response, he had never seen Gehe in this light. All three of them had been friends for a while and neither of them showed any dislike for the other up until now. "Stay below deck!" the captain shouted. Sogre, Gehe and the other adventurers that were below the deck were all wondering why the captain gave such an order. Gehe decided he wanted to find out so he went above deck which was shortly followed by a howl. Sogre quickly ran up the stairs leading to the ships deck and what he saw completed his lousy week

Three ships had docked next to theirs, they were all pirate ships and pirates were invading. "Great." Sogre thought "Can this possibly get any worse?" and with that thought he turned around and saw Gehe battling two pirates, Sogre quickly joined in the fray and together Sogre and Gehe were able to defeat the pirates. "Gehe we need to go back below deck!" Sogre shouted. Gehe did not hear Sogre because of the storm that was on the horizon. The sea became rough and the rain started back up again.

_The rain started again…_

The captain was shouting for the adventurers to go back below deck, Sogre wanted to but he refused to leave Gehe alone with the pirates. Gehe was aiding the other more experienced adventurers who were fighting off the pirates as well, as other adventurers had the attention of the pirates Gehe would go behind the pirates and strike them fatally when they had their attention on the adventurers. Sogre aided the adventurers as well by healing their minor injuries. After a while of fighting the pirates they eventually retreated back to their ships and left. Everyone who had engaged them cheered but their victory was short lived. The captain was not yelling at them to go below deck due to the pirates but due to the storm, at that moment a giant wave struck the ship knocking everyone who was on deck over. Sogre would have slid right off the ship if he hadn't grabbed a piece of rope. He frantically looked around for Gehe but Sogre could not find his friend. "Sogre!" Gehe shouted. Sogre looked around and saw Gehe hanging off the side of the ship. "Gehe I'm coming!" Sogre shouted as he climbed over other adventurers that were knocked down and unable to get up. He leaned over the edge of the ship and grabbed Gehe's hand. "Don't let go!" Gehe shouted as Sogre tried to pull him up. Sogre could see the fear in Gehe's eyes, Sogre pulled and pulled and shouted for someone to help him but no one came.

_The rain came down harder and the sea rougher, waves kept crashing into the ship almost knocking it over on several occasions._

Sogre looked up and was horrified at what he saw; a great big wave was on the horizon approaching the little ship. Sogre gripped Gehe's hand with all his might but the wave was much too powerful for the little Tarutaru, the sea was calling Gehe and in the end the sea got its way. With that final crash into the ship Sogre was knocked back and Gehe fell into the waters below. Sogre scrambled to get up but the waves kept knocking him down again. He ran to the side where Gehe fell into the waters and called out to him, searching with his eyes but he could not see his friend. Sogre only went back down under the deck when he was picked up by a hulking Galkan warrior and carried down below.

_The rain stopped and morning came._

Sogre could not comprehend what had happened. One minute Gehe was sitting next to him and they were plotting out their next adventure then it was all ripped from him in a wave of water. Sogre was the last adventurer to get off the ship, he realized he couldn't go back home to the federation because then they would question him on what happened to Gehe. Sogre did not think that the federation would believe him if he had told them that Gehe had fallen off the ferry en route to Selbina and even if they had there was still the possibility that he could be arrested for foul play. Sogre believed that he should just continue on with his journey where ever it may lead him.

_They were parted by an inescapable destiny but, this was just the beginning of the adventure of a lifetime._

**Final Fantasy XI: Sogre's Story 2003-2006**

--Argos of Bahamut


	2. Party

_Heres Chapter 2 in this collection of stories I hope everyone enjoys! Oh yeah I own nothing except the game.__

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2

_Party:_

_Journey to Jeuno_

_Sogre got off the boat in Selbina. He looked around and it resembled Mhaura except instead of a rocky ground there was sand, also the temperature was much higher, it felt like he had left fall and descended in to summer. The boat ride plagued Sogre's mind what would he say if he saw someone he knew from Windurst? Sogre felt as though he had failed one of his good friends and that thought would plague him for many years to come._

The boat arrived in Selbina during the morning hours but it did not dock until dusk. Sogre walked through customs and wondered what he would do now. He knew he couldn't go back to Windurst and he didn't know the area very well either. Sogre walked out into the town and looked around, to his left there was a pub and to the right a weapon and armor shop. Sogre couldn't recall the last time he ate so he trudged off towards the pub. The pub was large and filled with many people of all races. Sogre sat down in a booth and waited for the attractive Mithra waitress to come take his order. She was indeed beautiful with red hair pulled into two small pig tails in the back of her head. She approached Sogre and took out her note pad. "Hello sirrr I'm Daisy and I will be yourrrr waitrrrress this evening, what will it be?" she asked. "I'll have…a slice of pumpkin pie with a jug of apple juice please." Sogre said, Daisy wrote this down and walked away. Sogre began to think what he could do then, he over heard a group of adventurers talking at the table across from him. He strained his ears to hear what they were saying, he heard the Hume male tell the Galka something about Jeuno and how it's the town every one goes to. Sogre tried to get a little closer and he heard a little Tarutaru pipe in "Wait I need to go get a worm for my quest!" Daisy returned with Sogre's food, she placed it in front of him but he didn't notice he was too intent on hearing the conversation the adventurers were having. "We need a cleric if we wish to pursue that task Kataru." A tall Elvaan said. Sogre knew how to treat some injuries however, nothing too major. He was contemplating on approaching the adventurers then it happened: his chair was too weak and he was leaning too far over, Sogre fell off his seat with a very loud crash that drew all attention in the room towards him including that of the adventurers he was eavesdropping upon. The Galka walked over and helped Sogre to his feet, Sogre mumbled a thanks. He was blushing bright red, he had never been so embarrassed in his life. But he seized this opportunity to talk to the adventurers, "Um, excuse me but I couldn't help but over hear that you were in need of a cleric?" The group of adventurers looked at Sogre then the Elvaan mumbled something to the Hume, the Galka nodded towards Sogre. "Are you a cleric?" the Elvaan asked, his voice was soft and calm. "I can heal your injuries." responded Sogre knowing that he could not cleanse their body if they were poisoned. The group of adventurers talked amongst themselves for a few minutes occasionally looking up from their huddle and examining Sogre. "You're hired." the Elvaan said. Sogre sat down next to his new comrades and in the morning they would set off to find Kataru's worm but in the mean time he would finish his meal with the adventurers that he just met and worry what he would do when he got to Jeuno later.

Sogre awoke early the next morning. After they finished their meal the night before the five of them checked into a hotel for the night. The Elvaan was called Ban, the Hume L.T., the Tarutaru has already been introduced as Kataru, and the Galka was called Snow Ball. They met in the lobby; some of them had to gear up before leaving the safety of the town. Sogre sat on a old junky couch that had springs popping out of the cushions while Ban stood in a corner. Sogre was nervous to be setting out on a real adventure with real adventurers; he could hardly conceal his excitement. Sogre began to day dream about the hero he would someday become until he heard music. Sogre remembered this music because he had awoken in the middle of the night to sad yet lovely music. He turned around and saw that the music was coming from Ban! Ban was playing a wooden harp with such passion yet gentleness Sogre couldn't help but feel the pain in the poor Elvaan's heart as he played. L.T. and Snow Ball walked in with Kataru nipping at their heels. "Are we all set then?" Ban said as he put his harp away. Snow Ball nodded and the five adventurers left the inn and set off for the Valkurm Dunes.

Sogre was very nervous when he first laid eyes on the dunes, it was all desert as far as his eyes could see, nothing but fiends and sand. "Don't get too discouraged little guy, there are a few beaches around here. But such a shame we won't be visiting them." L.T. said to Sogre. The group set off towards the north they were hunting a worm from a damsel fly; these flies were extremely large and over grown dragon flies with deadly venom. Kataru explained that he needed a worm from the stomach of one of them for an experiment or a potion or something of that sort, Sogre wasn't paying attention when he was explaining but nor was everyone else. After a while of walking Sogre sat down "Can we rest a little please?" he panted, the poor Tarutaru was falling prey to heat exhaustion. L.T. handed Sogre a canteen of water, "Sure little fella." He said. Ban and Snow Ball kept walking they said they were going to scout the area for flies and blow a whistle if they found one. L.T. sat next to Sogre "So where do you come from?" "Windurst." Sogre said praying that L.T. wouldn't ask him why he left and decided to come to this hellish place yet he had no such luck because the next question that came from L.T.'s mouth was "Why did you come here of all places? I thought the Tarutaru hated the dry and desolate regions of Vana 'diel." Sogre was thinking of a way to explain it so he would not have to tell L.T. of the incident on the boat. "I uh.." stammered Sogre fighting for words then he heard it, a whistle a little north from their location. "Looks like we'll have to save that answer for later." L.T. said picking up his giant axe and running towards the sound of Ban's whistle. Sogre and Kataru followed behind him.

When Sogre, Kataru and L.T. got to the scene of the Damsel Fly battle they saw Snow Ball attempting to hit the fly with his sword and Ban was playing a magical tune on his flute. L.T. entered the fray immediately injuring the fly greatly with his axe. Kataru and Sogre ran over to Ban, if the fly turned its attention to them it could swallow them whole in one bite! Kataru began to utter words of magic and Sogre stood next to Ban also casting a spell. Snow Ball parried the attacks of the fly while striking back when possible however he was unable to deal a critical blow to the beast. L.T. was not able to make much more progress than Snow Ball every chance he had to cut off the fly's wings with his axe the fly swerved to either the left and the right so L.T. would just strike downwards into the sand. Sogre finished casting his spell before Kataru did; Sogre altered the time barrier surrounding the fly so its movement was greatly reduced. Kataru finished his spell shortly after, fire built up in his hands and he threw three fire balls at the fly, it howled in pain and agony. This was the opportunity that Snow Ball and L.T. needed, Snow Ball hit the fly's left wing with his sword with all his might and L.T. leapt onto the right one, both men severed the wings and the body fell to the ground. "Put it out of its misery Kataru." Ban instructed. Kataru spoke a few more words of magic and the sand the fly was laying upon folded over it, the fly moved and struggled to get free after a while it stopped writhing and Kataru let the veil of sand and rock fade. Much to Kataru's dismay there was no worm where the fly had decomposed. The other four sighed as well because it meant that they had to hunt down more flies.

The adventurers spent the entire day hunting down and killing flies but alas they found nothing. Kataru had given hopes of getting what he needed until he saw another fly. Despite the other men being tired and exhausted from their previous battle Kataru began casting a spell regardless. Snow Ball followed Kataru's lead and began taking stabs at the fly with his sword; L.T. was on the other side of the fly getting ready to strike with his axe. Ban began singing a song that would cheer up his allies and hopefully give them enough strength to get through this last battle. Sogre began chanting a spell to hinder the fly's sight so it could easily be attacked by L.T. and Snow Ball. Kataru unleashed his spell, the air around the fly rapidly grew colder, the wind fused together and created a ball of ice which proceeded to fall unto the fly knocking it unconscious. L.T. severed the fly's head with his axe. Once it began to decompose Kataru's little Tarutaru face lit up with joy as he spotted the worm he needed. Kataru picked it up and stuffed it into a pouch strapped onto his tunic. "We can rest now!" Kataru exclaimed happily. The five adventurers trudged back to the inn and combined they felt as if they brought half the desert with them.

Morning came and they were still tired from their night of celebrating. Snow Ball almost hit it off with the waitress from the pub; Daisy until he vomited all over her clothes. Ban did not partake in the festivities, he went up to his room and played his sad yet calming tune all night long. L.T. drank yagudo drinks until he passed out all over the bar, meanwhile Kataru worked in his room with that worm he obtained, explosions could be heard and foul odors crept out of his room all night long. Sogre went up to Ban's room to listen to the wonderful and melodious playing of the simple yet elegant wooden harp. He sat outside the door way and listened to the harp for what seemed like hours. Ban's playing triggered memories from Sogre's past. Memories of his schooling flowed back to him, friends he had made, his graduation, spells he had tried to cast but gone horribly wrong. Sogre chuckled to himself remembering some things he did when he was younger. Then Ban's melody changed to a sorrowful tone, as the tone changed so did the memories that had flowed back to Sogre. Foul memories of Mixo and Gehe came back, the arguments they had that Sogre blocked out, the boat ride in which Gehe was thrown over board, battles that they had won and the enemies they had vanquished, all of it came flowing back to him in a single rush that overwhelmed him. The music stopped and the oak door opened. A tall Elvaan man with blonde hair spiked up held the door open with one hand and a wooden harp with the other. "What is it?" His voice was gentle. Sogre was still muddled in his memories so he didn't respond at first. Ban asked a second time and Sogre managed to stammer "Oh sorry I was listening to your music." Ban smiled at the small Tarutaru. "Why thank you little one, I have been musically gifted since I was young but I never really acted upon it until recently." Ban said sadly. "You play wonderfully!" Sogre said. "Thank you. You had best be off to bed now for tomorrow we embark on a new journey." "Where to?" Sogre asked. "To Jeuno of course my dear child." Ban replied.

Morning came all too quickly for Snow Ball and L.T. but Sogre, Ban and Kataru woke up refreshed. "Ugh I'm never going to drink again." L.T. moaned as the group trudged off to the east heading for La Theine Plateau. "Well no one told you to go crazy and drink that much." Kataru said matter-of-factly, L.T. smacked him in the back of the head. "Did I really puke all over Daisy?" Snow Ball asked in his hulking voice. "Yeap, you sure did." Ban said. "Damn." Snow Ball responded.

Sogre had gotten use to the heat of the Valkurm Dunes in the past few days he had been there but he was not sad to see it go, although next time he promised himself that he would go to the beaches and enjoy the dunes a little more. Soon they had put the Valkurm Dunes to their backs; they began to see more and more grass and less and less sand to which no one objected. From what Sogre understood the other four people he was traveling with were in the dunes for weeks before he came along, apparently many healers do not linger in the dunes for very long.

_La Theine Plateau, lies beyond the Ronfaure region of San d' Oria and is home to many creatures mainly the rarab although many orcs pass by on their way to the Orc strong hold of Davoi. The Plateau itself has many cracks and crevices. Many adventurers disliked the Plateau because of its many levels, as the plateau progresses the ground elevates a little bit and many adventurers find themselves up against a wall of earth as they follow their map. La Theine also had a mystical aura about it, or at least Sogre believed so. Occasionally if you looked up you could see a rainbow appear in the sky._

Fortune smiled upon the adventurers today because there was no rain in the plateau nor was there any wind. "This will be a good day to travel." Ban said admiring the nice weather. Sogre nodded. The friends walked onwards following the dirt path. In the distance Sogre could see an altar, similar to the one he saw in the Canyon which felt like years ago despite it only being a week. L.T. noticed that Sogre's gaze was fixated on the altar. "That's one of the several crags found in the world. There are a total of six that we know of but perhaps there are more in some unexplored region of Vana 'diel. Once you receive its blessing you can travel between that gate freely." L.T. explained. "Well not exactly…" Kataru chirped in. "You can only go to it from a teleportation spell. If a cleric casts a spell to a gate that you haven't opened the door way to then you'll be left behind! It's important to receive the blessing of every gate you find! You never know when it can save you." Sogre looked at the approaching altar with even more fascination now. "Hey Ban, can we go check out that crag?" Sogre finally asked. Ban and the others agreed that it couldn't hurt to go take a look at the great stone crag.

_It was the same…_

Sogre was astonished at how similar the crags in Tahrongi Canyon and La Theine Plateau looked. He approached the glowing blue cerulean crystal and touched it like he had done in Tahrongi so long ago. Energy flowed through his body and warmed his soul. It was a similar yet different feeling than the one in Tahrongi Canyon.

"_The time is approaching, you must free me soon Sogre"_

The glowing ended and Sogre stepped down from the altar to rejoin the others who must have already had the blessings of Holla. Sogre heard that strange voice again; it was the same voice that he had heard when he touched the crystal in Tahrongi. Seeing as no one else was looking around for a mystery speaker Sogre must have been the only one to hear its calm voice, what ever it was it was in need of help. From the crag the travelers walked east towards the Jugner Forest, they were close to Jeuno yet they still had a good distance to go and so far their journey had been a pleasant one.

The group made camp in Jugner for the night. They were exhausted and it was getting late out. Sogre and Kataru created a magical fire together that was resistant to water and wind. The magical fire looked like any normal fire, embers floated in the wind, it was of normal temperature the only difference between this fire and a regular fire was that the magical light that radiated from the fire acted as a fiend repellent providing temporary protection from the fiends in the forest.

Everyone gathered around the fire and talked lightly, one by one they drifted off into sleep, the first being the hulking Galka Snow Ball followed shortly by the Hume L.T. then little Kataru. Soon Ban and Sogre were the only ones awake. Sogre was mesmerized by the dancing flames. Ban took out his flute and began to play an uplifting tune softly so he would not wake the sleeping ones. The magical fire responded to the magical tune in a mystical way, from the fire two embers emerged shaped like two Humes. As Ban played his flute the two embers danced and frolicked about, Sogre was amazed and fascinated. "Why is your music magical?" Sogre finally asked. Ban stopped playing and the fire dancers sank back into the hearth. "Not too long ago I was in Jeuno, I sat in the local pub and listened to a well renowned Bard play his music and recite his tales. One day he asked me if I wanted to learn since he had seen me at all of his showings, I told him I did. Then I asked him the very same question you just asked of me. He told me that it was an ancient art. Long ago the people of Vana 'diel locked pieces of their heart into music, great warriors sung about their victories and battles, mages sung about their powerful magic or boasted about their intellect. Such pieces of music that were able to captivate the soul and release long forgotten memories are truly remarkable and sharing them with as many people possible is what being a Bard is truly about." Sogre's almond eyes widened in fascination he was completely wrapped up in Ban's explanation he forgot how tired he was. Sogre's eyelids began to grow heavier and heavier, Ban began to play his flue once more and then Sogre drifted into a deep slumber.

"Everyone wake up!" Ban exclaimed. Everyone woke up immediately and searched for their weapons in the darkness of the night, somehow the magical fire was dispelled and its light of protection faded. During the time there was no light warding off the fiends a band of orcs spotted them sleeping and had attacked. Sogre was the last to awaken; he opened his eyes and saw everyone in their battle stances. "Where's the enemy?" L.T. shouted holding his battle axe Snow Ball standing next to him with his great sword. "Over there!" Kataru exclaimed. Two orcs were crouching behind a large oak behind Ban. Kataru mumbled a spell and the air around the orcs convulsed, and tore their flesh. They howled in pain and charged towards Kataru. The two orcs would have torn Kataru in half with their razor sharp axes if it were not for the intervention of L.T. and Snow Ball. The two warriors stood in between Kataru and the two orcs and with one mighty swing from their weapons they cut the orcs in half, blood spewed everywhere and continued to flow from their corpses. Sogre and Ban fought one together across from Kataru, Sogre attacked with his blade and Ban played a magic tune on his flute that would help Sogre focus in battle. After L.T., Snow Ball and Kataru finished with their orcs they assisted Ban and Sogre and together the five of them disposed of the last remaining orc. "Why did the fire go out?" Sogre asked Kataru, "I don't know." Kataru said obviously disturbed, "Orcs aren't really gifted in magic so it must have been something or someone else." He finished. "Well since we're awake we might as well continue our journey since we obviously are no longer safe in these woods." Ban said starting down the path, the others nodded in agreement.

Kataru and Sogre led the way with their magic light. It was pitch black outside their two spheres of white light. They were the only things that were able to pierce the darkness of Jugner. Without the light guiding them the group would never have been able to see two feet in front of them, Snow Ball had already stepped on Kataru a few times. Sogre thought about the fire as they walked, Ban was the only one awake and he did in fact wake everyone else up. Sogre tinkered with the idea that Ban might have dispelled the magical flames but he quickly dismissed that idea, after all if Ban wanted them dead he just simply would not have woken them up although Sogre felt as if his sudden spell of drowsiness had something to do with Ban's music. The animals local to Jugner made no sounds as the group walked the path, occasionally leaves would fall onto them but it was impossible to see them falling. Owls hooted periodically and the occasional bat flew about them, disturbed by the light. The group walked onwards and as dawn came they were just about out of Jugner. As dawn grew nearer and nearer the friends rested on a hill that overlooked the Batallia Downs.

Kataru sat on a log and caught his breath while Ban stood at the end of the hill looking onwards; L.T. and Snow Ball sat on the ground and drank from their pigskins. "Are we almost there?" Sogre asked. "Yeah almost there little buddy." L.T. asked. "What are you going to do when you get there?" Asked Sogre. L.T. looked perplexed for a moment then responded. "Well I'll probably hit up the local taverns for a bit and check to see if there are any jobs to be done." L.T. answered and Snow Ball nodded as well. Kataru on the other hand had a different response. "Well Sogre I plan to work with the consulate of Windurst with relations between Jeuno and Windurst and do what ever is needed." Sogre got off of his log and went over to Ban who was looking onto the horizon. The sun crept over the Grand Duchy of Jeuno that could be seen in the distance. "Where to now?" Sogre asked Ban. "We have to cross the savannah like Batallia Downs. It's the last leg in our journey but we can not give any less than our best." Ban replied. Sogre's journey was coming to an end, he was saddened that soon he would be parting way with his new friends but at the same time was afraid that someone would recognize him from Windurst and he would have to deal with what happened before he was ready. Sogre gazed at the horizon with Ban. The orange and purple that formed in the sky as the sum was rising was mesmerizing but Sogre could not linger, he had to finish his journey.

After their brief rest the gang descended the hill and began trudging through the Batallia Downs. The Downs was a savannah-like region that bordered one area of Jeuno. Sproutlings, flies and tigers were native to this area, they thrived in the savannah like atmosphere of Batallia Downs. The tigers were big and black; they could easily devour a small Tarutaru. The five of them walked in the arid region, it was not hot on the contrary it was a cold yet dry and arid region. They walked for a while the cold wind lashing against their faces. The group was hungry, their stomachs grumbled, none of them had eaten in a day and a half since they left Selbina. Their feet became sore from walking all night and well into the day, they were exhausted and had no energy left to fend off a fiend if one had attacked them. Midday came and went Sogre was about to pass out when Kataru shouted "There it is! I can see the gates to Jeuno!" Sogre and the others found a new energy within them and charged at full speed towards Jeuno's gates. The gates grew closer and closer and closer and soon enough they were standing in Upper Jeuno.

Sogre looked at Jeuno and was amazed; he had never seen a city so big before. In the distance he could see a great big dome, Ban explained that was there the map of town and the Mog Houses were. Sogre was fascinated by all of this but especially by the big yellow bird like monsters. L.T. explained to him that they were called chocobos, they resembled chickens but they were one of the fastest creatures in Vana 'diel. Soon after L.T. and Snow Ball trudged off to the local bars, Kataru ventured to Ru ' Lude Gardens to work with the consulate and Ban went off on his own way. Sogre wandered around Jeuno for a while before he checked into his Mog House, to his amazement all of his possessions that were in Windurst were magically moved to his new room in Jeuno also the Moogle attendant in his home presented him with an Adventurer's Phone so he could keep track of all the friends he made, just about every adventurer in Vana 'diel owns one.

_Sogre spent many months in Jeuno doing various quests for its citizens and vanquishing ferocious monsters along the way. His power kept growing little by little each and every day. For once in his life he was happy to lead a simple uncomplicated life but that would soon change._

**Final Fantasy XI: Sogre's Story 2003-2006**

--Argos of Bahamut


	3. Linkshell

_3_

_Linkshell:_

_Enter the Yakuza_

_Sogre spent many months in Jeuno but he longed to return to his beloved Windurst. Not too long after being in Jeuno he had encountered a Hume man talking to one of his associates. Sogre recognized this man as Alarec a friend he had known in Windurst. They talked for a short time about Windurst, Alarec was curious why Sogre was in Jeuno, last everyone heard of him he was in Mhaura with Gehe. Sogre evaded that question and in return asked why he was in Jeuno. Alarec explained to the young Tarutaru that he was recruiting members for his faction. To make a long boring story short Alarec gave Sogre a pearl to his linkshell faction. A linkshell is a tool used to communicate between the leader and their faction members, if a person talks into the shell everyone with an active pearl turned on will be able to hear and vice versa, if someone talks into the pearl the same effect will occur. Alarec's faction was called The Yakuza and from the weeks he spent with them Sogre met many new friends but the point of this chapter is to highlight one in particular; another Tarutaru with silver hair and almond eyes called Koud._

One afternoon Sogre was in forest region of Ronfaure, it was a nice, warm sunny day, outside birds were chirping in the trees as Sogre walked past them. Sogre loved carefree days like this one, the warm spring wind was blowing slightly ruffling his naturallyunkept hair. He sat down to enjoy a patch of warm grass that the sun was shining upon through a break in the trees. Sogre looked at the blue sky and the white puffy clouds through the small opening. He almost fell asleep when he heard someone from his linkshell asking for help. He recognized the voice and the accent, it was Koud; one of the linkshell's officers and more advanced clerics. "Anyone free today?" Koud asked over the linkshell, no one responded. Sogre felt bad so he responded back "Hey Koud, I'm free whatcha need?" It took Koud a few moments to respond back "Hi Sogre, wanna help me try to get a rare herb?" Koud asked, Sogre silently chuckling to himself because of Koud's accent. "Sure, where at?" Sogre replied. "In the Pashow Marshlands." Koud said. "Ok I'm on my way from San d' Oria, see you soon" Sogre said as he put his pearl back into his pack. Sogre did not really want to leave his nice and warm patch of grass but he decided that it would be a good deed for the day to go help a linkshell mate. Sogre trudged back up the path back to the Kingdom of San d' Oria.

Sogre entered the town,tall stone walls encased the kingdom served as protection forthe citizens from the orcs that made camp in the Ronfaure and Fort Gheslba. The Temple Knights were the guards of the proud Elvaan capital. Sogre walked down to the local chocobo stables, passing through the main square and the auction house which as usual, was swamped with willing adventurers eager to buy items straight off the auction house with their hard earned gil and then there were those adventurers who set up their own shop to sell some of their useless junk hoping to make a slight profit. Sogre entered the wooden stables and spoke with the female Elvaan attendant, he showed her his chocobo license and gave her a two hundred gil piece and set off on one of the smaller chocobos, there was no sense of him getting a very large one since he was a very small Tarutaru maybe not even standing three feet tall.

_Getting a chocobo license as an adventurer was no easy task for Sogre. When he reached Jeuno roughly a month ago possibly longer Sogre walked down to the stables to apply for a license but the attendant was less than helpful. The tattooed Hume man told Sogre to get lost and that they were not accepting new applications until the illness that plagued their chocobos went away. This dashed Sogre's hopes of riding a chocobo. He left the stable master's office enraged and saddened, Sogre then sat down on the steps outside the stables looking at the poor chocobo with pity. A normal color for a chocobo's feathers is gold but the color in this bird's feathers resembled a very dull and faded piece of construction paper. Then he heard it again, the same voice he heard when he was at the crag in La Theine Plateau._

"_Try feeding it a little bit of gausebit grass."_

_The voice told Sogre. He was sitting outside the auction house and it did not seem like that bad of an idea. Sogre got up and bought a few pieces of gausebit grass and fed it to the chocobo, immediately it seemed to affect the chocobo, Sogre fed the chocobo in secret for an entire week until the stable master caught him with the now well chocobo. Sogre explained that he thought gausebit grass would help the chocobo get well. The stable master instead of yelling at Sogre he thanked him for saving his chocobo, the master then presented Sogre with his license free of charge._

The Tarutaru rode through the forest of Ronfaure swiftly on his chocobo, the air rushing against his face and through his hair. Sogre passed many adventurers and fiends on the ride out of the Ronfaure and into the La Theine Plateau. Today it was raining in the plateau; the rain was frigid and chilled Sogre to the bone. He did not linger in the Plateau for very long for fear he would turn into a taru-sickle Sogre navigated through the cracks and various crevices of the plateau and eventually found himself no longer on grass but on sand.

Sogre realized that he had reached the Valkurm Dunes once more. His tunic began to dry almost instantly, the heat of the desert was too much for the Tarutaru so he drew back the hood allowing more air to circulate through his clothing. He rode through the sand and the fiends that had inhabited the dunes. "Its all the same, nothing has changed." Sogre commented to himself remembering his first venture into the dunes well over a month ago. Sogre rode valiantly through the dunes as fast as his chocobo could take him, even though he was no longer susceptible to the heat exhaustion the dunes had been known to cause Sogre just did not like heat at all. After riding for half an hour Sogre began to notice grass appearing on the ground; he had left the dunes and entered the highlands. "Wow these birds are fast." Sogre thought, amazed at how fast a half day hike was cut down to a mere half hour on chocobo.

_The Konschat Highlands, a meadow and grassy region similar to the Sarutabaruta that surrounded the Federation of Windurst. Bastok used the highlands as a source of power, most of the time a strong breeze passed through the republic decided to harness that untainted power supply and built several windmills throughout the highlands to harness the power of wind. No one really knew what the power went to but it was most likely used to power a contraption or several contraptions created by the republic's chief engineer; Cid._

Sogre wished he could sit back and relax in the meadows of the highlands but he promised Koud that he would help him find an herb in the marshlands, perhaps one day he could come back and just sit in the meadows and look up at the clear blue sky and just watch the clouds move. Sogre noticed a crag in the distance as he headed north east towards the marshlands; he never visited this crag before so he rode over to it. The grand stone altar was the same as the other two he had seen. Sogre dismounted his chocobo and tied it to a break in the stone. Sogre cautiously approached the cerulean crystal wondering if he would hear that voice call out to him once more. Sogre reached out and touched the warm glowing crystal, once more his body flowed with energy and he was aware of everything.

"_Sogre it is time…venture to the Maze of Shakrahmi and retrieve the stone with the help of Koud, call Ban if needed but please for the sake of all life in Vana 'diel you must release me from my prison."_

Sogre immediately pulled his hand away from the crystal. The voice was no longer a slight whisper in his ear he was positive that the voice grew louder and louder each time he came in contact with one of these crag crystals. "Sogre where the hell are you?" Koud's voice boomed from Sogre's linkpearl, it startled Sogre and he fell down the altar steps onto the ground. "Ouch.." Sogre muttered. He took the linkpearl out of his pocket "Yeah what is it? " he groaned as he rubbed his sore head and back. "Where are you?" Koud asked. "In the highlands, I'm almost there just gimme a few more minutes." Sogre said as he put away his linkpearl. He got up and mounted his chocobo mumbling something about using Koud's head as a soccer ball.

_The Pashow Marshlandsis pretty much as it sounds; a marsh. Quadav roam this area scouting for fresh meat that may wander by. Today it was raining much like every other day except on this day there a small Tarutaru stood on the outskirts of the marshes waiting for another person. His breastplate was covered in acombination of water, mud and muck from the marsh._

"Where is this guy?" The Tarutaru wondered removing his shield and setting it down beside him since his arm was tired from supporting it. "Hey Koud!" A voice called in the distance, Koud looked around and saw a chocobo with a small Tarutaru approaching with surprising speed. "Took you long enough!" Koud grumbled. Sogre dismounted his chocobo who then took off at an even greater speed than Sogre rode on it, probably heading to the nearest stables. "What exactly are we looking for?" Sogre asked as they trudged through the muck and water. "Well," Koud began "we are looking for a monster with grass covering its back, I need the seeds from its back for gardening." Once Koud mentioned gardening Sogre burst into laughter. His first impression of Koud was that he was a serious and macho Tarutaru since he served for a short while as a War Warlock in the federation's army. "What's so funny?" Koud asked. "Nothing." Sogre said as he tried to contain himself." Sogre tried to take another step but the combination of muck and mud caused him to fall face first into the filthy mud, Koud found this extremely funny and burst into laugher as Sogre got up covered in marsh muck. Koud helped him walk taunting him not to fall again and come back out as swamp thing's best friend. After a while of walking the rain washed away some of the muck covering Sogre's face, you could at least see his facial features now, such as his orange skin and his black chipmunk-like nose.

They wandered the marsh for a few hours and they could not find this monster with grass on its back. Sogre at this point was very tired and very dirty; he had fallen two more times. "Koud I don't think we'll find it here." Just as Sogre said these words Koud had shouted that he found it. "Of course." Sogre said looking up to the sky talking to the unknown on looker. Sogre drew his sword and rushed over to the battle, Koud had his shield up and hammer drawn; he was ready for combat. Sogre chanted a magical spell granting his blade the temporary power of wind with each blow he dealt. Koud called upon the light to surround himself and Sogre with a barrier that would soften the enemie's blows. Sogre slashed at the monster, it was easily taller than three of him stacked. The monster stood at least ten feet tall. "Sogre distract him while I get the seeds!" Koud shouted as he snuck behind the monster. "Alright!" Sogre said in return. To give Koud some cover and to hinder the monster's eye sight Sogre conjured up a magic fog that allowed him and Koud to move around the enemy while making it much harder for the monster to see. The tall giant-like monster wailed about blindly missing Sogre by a mile each blow, to further enrage the beast and for partial fun Sogre lit a fire under the monster's feet causing the moss monster to dance about wildly. Sogre laughed at this while Koud cluctched onto the grass on the monster's back so he would not fly off and cursedSogre because it was rather difficult to extract seeds when the monster was flailing about like a mad man. The monster moaned in agony at the fire, "Ok all done!" Koud shouted as he joyfully hopped off the poor beasts' back. Sogre nodded and extinguished the fire and then said a few more words of magic and the giant blue monster with moss on its back was lulled off to sleep. "Koud can we go to Tahrongi?" Sogre asked. "Sure." Koud responded. He began chanting a teleportation spell, Sogre could not understand the words Koud spoke but understood it as the mystical language of magic. Then a white flash occurred, the Pashow Marshlands slowly melted away as Sogre was jerked back then pushed forward again, instead of seeing the wet marshlands he opened his eyes to see the dry and arid region of Tahrongi. Sogre and Koud stepped down from the altar and waiting for them was a tall Elvaan with blonde hair spiked up. "Ban you made it!" Sogre said happily. This was the first time he had seen Ban since their long walk to Jeuno. "Yeah I couldn't resist this adventure." Ban said politely bowing to Koud. "What's going on?" Koud asked as the three of them trudged off to the eastern tip of the canyon. "Well I got you your seeds and I need help finding this rock thing." Sogre explained as they walked along the edge of a mountain looking for something. "Is this what we're looking for?" Koud asked as he walked in a crack in the mountainside. "Yeah! Koud you're a genius." Sogre exclaimed happily as he entered the crack too followed shortly by Ban.

_The Maze of Shakrahmi; a series of tunnels buried deep within the mountainside of Tahrongi. Hardly any adventurers ventured into its labyrinth like tunnels but, there was a rumor of great treasure deep within the tunnels to those who braved them._

"It's a bit dark in here don't you think?" Ban said and all at once the three of them cast their magical light allowing them to see. "Ban I thought you were a traveling Bard?" Sogre inquired wondering why his friend had a sword at his side and able to use magic. "Yeah well that was just a side thing. Fencing and minor spells is where my true passion lies." Ban explained. Koud walked in and found an injured adventurer laying on the ground. He immediately began to chant a aura that would alleviate the pain from the deep slash the poor Mithra had in her side. "Thank…you." She said, still weak from the cut which was rapidly closing due to Koud's magic. While wandering the caves and tunnels Koud provided assistance to other injured treasure seekers and adventurers alike, in one case he was able to bring someone back from the brink of death. Sogre was amazed at the power Koud wielded, not only was he a powerful cleric but he was able to hold his own in a battle as well with his trusty hammer he kept at his side. They had walked around the cave for a long period of time, they encountered fierce goblins and bats alike and even a couple of worms that flung boulders at who so ever came close to them. "Sogre we aren't going to get a single thing here." Koud complained after walking around for hours. Sogre did not want to believe this so he ignored Koud's complaints. After a few more minutes of walking the three decided they needed to rest. No sooner had they sat down Ban exclaimed in pain. Sogre and Koud looked concerned; Ban reached under him and pulled out a bright red ruby from his behind. Sogre stared at it mystified and entranced by the gem. Sogre took it from Ban's hand and as soon as he touched it he heard a mystical voice calling out to him.

"_Well done Sogre but your task has just begun! I need you to take me to my master's home in Windurst all will be explained there."_

Sogre came to and was face to face with Ban and Koud who were obviously worried. "Dude what happened to you?" Koud asked. "Yeah you just kind of stared blankly into space." Ban added sounding concerned. Sogre sat up and placed the newly acquired ruby into his pack, Koud and Ban were still looking at him cautiously like he was about to slip into a coma. "Hey Koud." Sogre began. "Yeah?" Koud said as he and Ban stood up "Can you cast your teleportation spell once more? I need to go to Windurst." Koud nodded and cast his spell, once again Sogre was jerked back then forward as the tunnels slowly melted away and the dry and arid canyon re formed. Sogre thanked Koud and Ban as they cast their own spells that warped them away, Sogre then ran down the stone steps of the crag with the mysterious ruby clenched tightly in his little hand.

**Final Fantasy XI: Sogre's Story 2003-2006**

--Argos of Bahamut


	4. Quest

_4_

_Quest:_

_Unlocking the secrets of the Rainbow_

Sogre stood in Windurst Walls looking at the house he had believed to be haunted since he was a child. It was the lone house in the northern part of Windurst Walls; everyone called it the House of the Hero. Sogre approached the door with the ruby clutched in his hand. Somehow he knew this is where the ruby wanted to be, it started to pulsate in his hand. Sogre walked up to the door and it remained tightly locked. "Well this is it you stupid stone." Sogre thought bitterly to himself, he kicked the door and turned around to leave and suddenly he heard the door unlock. Sogre slowly turned around and saw that the door was ajar. Sogre approached the door and slowly entered the house. The inside of the house was dark and dusty; no one had been living here for a very long period of time. The ruby began to glow brighter and brighter, Sogre took it out and gazed at it loosing himself in the ruby. "You! What-taru are you doing-woing herey-weary?" A voice called from behind him. Sogre turned around and saw and old magician, dressed from head to toe in flowing robes who identified himself as Ajido-Marujido. "I askey-asked you a question-taru!" Ajido-Marujido said asking Sogre what he was doing in the house once more. Sogre stammered at a lost for words and in his nervousness he stumbled backwards the ruby dropped onto the floor.

"_Sogre...gather the seven colors of light…" _

Ajido-Marujido was shocked when he saw the blood-red ruby on the wooden floor. "Its…can it-taru be?" Ajido-Marujido approached the ruby and picked it up, "Its Carbuncle's Ruby!" the old magician exclaimed. Sogre got up and took the jewl from the old Tarutaru's hand. "You know what this is?" Sogre asked the old magician. "It's the legen-wegendary ruby that's said to hold Carbuncle captive-waptive!" Ajido-Marujido exclaimed excitedly. "You can hear Carbuncles cries for helpy-help?" Ajido-Marujido exclaimed getting a few inches from Sogre's face, his eyes glistening with hope. "Uh, yeah I guess so." Sogre said slowly edging away from Ajido-Marujido's face. "You have to savey-save Carbuncle!" Ajido-Marujido said. "I…" Sogre began but backing into the bookcase stopped him as the case nearly fell on the poor Tarutaru. Ajido-Marujido laughed at this and began to leave "Go exposey-wose that ruby to the seven color-wolors of light and rescue Carby-warby." He said as he closed the door behind him. "Seven colors of light?" What does that mean…?" Sogre said as he closed the door behind him.

"_Seven colors of light…what is that suppose to mean?" _Sogre thought to himself as he sprawled himself across on the warm Sarutabaruta grass. "Maybe… she would know?" Sogre sat up and decided that it was well past due time to see his old friend again. Sogre did not want to draw attention to himself during his short stay in Windurst but Mixo was much more intone with puzzle solving than he was. Sogre walked towards Windurst Woods.

The grand ivory fountain in the center of the area was just as clean and grand as he remembered it Sogre had not been in his home nation in so long he missed the shade that the trees in the woodsy region of Windurst provided. He reminisced about the times he and Mixo would just lounge about lazily enjoying the shade and sun, completely oblivious to the chores they had to do. Sogre found himself standing outside a wooden hut with a flower garden to the right. With all of his courage he walked up to the door and knocked. There was no answer. Sogre lingered outside the door for a couple of minutes and as he began to walk away he bumped into a tall Mithra with pink-white hair. The Mithra looked down to see who had disturbed her. "Sogrrre!"

Sogre and Mixo sat inside Mixo's house drinking chamomile tea. Her house was truly remarkable; in the months that Sogre had left Windurst Mixo had not only improved her black magic skill but also she had learned the way of physical combat using the scythe as her weapon of choice. Piles of chain mail adorned her living room and her bedroom while robes and spell books lined the walls and any other crevice Mixo could cram them into "What happened to you afterrr the boat?" Mixo inquired sipping her tea. "Oh that well you see…Gehe said he'd ride back and I told him I'd stay in Selbina, I heard pirates attacked the ship back…" Sogre said making it up as he went along. Mixo knew Sogre long enough to know that this was a lie but for the sake of not causing arguments she hastily changed the subject. "What brrrings you herrre?" Mixo asked helping herself to more cream. "Well.." Sogre began helping himself to some sugar lumps "I recently came across this strange stone that, ok don't laugh but…it…" "It what?" Mixo asked intrigued. "It…talks to me." Sogre finished. Mixo looked at Sogre as if he sprouted a second head; she put down her tea cup hastily and stood up "You expect me to believe a stone is talking to you?" Sogre expected this kind of reaction. "Look you know the legend of Windurst; the great hero who called forth a beast that was able to save the federation! When he died his power must have been locked away into this stone. I took it to his home in Windurst Walls and it talked to me once more. It told me to gather the seven colors of light. I need your help, please tell me what it means I know you know. Sogre pleaded. Mixo took a moment to think and then she resumed her seat. "Sogrrre I know you'rrre not crrrazy. The seven colors of light is prrrobably rrreferrring to the rrrainbow." Mixo explained, Sogre nodded in agreement. "Well the weatherrr is deterrrmined by the prrresence of an elemental in that rrregion so I would guess that if you found wherrre elementals are prrrone to appearrr you could take their enerrrgy to powerrr that stone." she concluded, Sogre sat with his mouth open having forgotten all about his tea "What a fantastic idea!" Sogre exclaimed. He hurriedly collected his things, thanked Mixo then ran off at full speed. As he exited her house the gem began to glow orange and floated up into the sky recieving the power of light from the sun.

_Sogre spent many weeks gathering the seven colors of light. He traveled to the arid region of Tahrongi to gather the power of the dust, La Theine Plateau for the power of wind, Konschat Highlands for the power of thunder, Pashow Marshlands for the power of water, and the Valkurm Dunes for the power of fire, only one remained; the power of ice._

Sogre returned to Jeuno and tried to get leads to where he could find the power of and ice. He checked the weather forecast linkshell daily but to his dismay no region was going to experience snow storms anytime soon. He was at a loss. Each night he had a dream of a little blue fox-rabbit type creature with a brilliant red ruby mounted on its forehead telling him that he must hurry to gather the remaining power. Then one night he had a nightmare that was much different than any of the dreams in which the blue fox-rabbit creature was in. He dreamt that he was in a castle surrounded by snow as far as the eye could see. He was at the top of the castle looking out into the snow storm. The castle was very large and filled with the presence of evil. Sogre approuched one door at the top and felt a tremendous power coming from behind the door, it was like a power he had never felt before. Slowly he opened the door and...

"Ring ring"

Someone was calling Sogre's phone. Sogre woke in a daze still weary from the sleep he had just been awoken from. He reached over to his bedside cabinet and picked up his phone knocking a lamp onto the floor in the process. "Hullo?" Sogre answered yawning. "Hey Sogre did I wake you?" came a familiar voice from the phone. "Oh Hi Ban. no not really I was kinda sitting here awake something up?" Sogre said trying to muffle his continous yawns. "Yeah, remember you told me that you were searching for a place that was very cold and snowed alot?" Ban said trying to contain his excitement. "Yeah" Sogre responed. "Well I found it! The Beaucedine Glacier. I'm amazed I didn't figure it out sooner well anyway you can get to it from going through a cave in the north eastern most part of East Ronfaure and going through the Ranguement Pass. It is a dangerous journey for someone of your skill level so I asked one of my friends to meet you in The San 'd Orian square tomorrow night at sunset. You interestred?" "Yeah! I'll leave first thing in the morning!" Sogre exclaimed. "Uh Sogre, its midday." Ban said. Sogre leapt out of bed at once and rushed to the curtains which he drew back in a hurry. The sun crept into his dark bedroom filling the room with light. Outside his window he saw adventures walking through the streets of Jeuno "Oh...great." Sogre muttered dumbfounded at how he slept well into the day. He picked up his phone and ended the call, despite he could still hear Ban talking, then he jumped abck onto his bedand rested his head on his cloud soft pillow. "I have to get up...but not right now." Sogre thought as he drifted back off to sleep.

"Oh my god I'm so late!" Sogre thought panicked. Since his last talk with Ban Sogre fell asleep well into that night and awoke the following morning in a frenzy. He woke up and immediately grabbed his knapsack then he rushed out the door knocking his poor moogle flat on his behind. "Have a good day master." the moogle said as he picked himself up. Sogre rushed to the chocobo stables and made his way towards San d'Oria via the Batallia Downs. Through out his trip all Sogre could think about was how late he was and how furious Ban's friend would be at him. Sogre was in such a rush he almost forgot the Carbuncle's Ruby sitting ontop his dresser. He was halfway to the stables when he realized he forgot it and raced back to his mog house knocking his moogle down once more. Early morning faded into day and day into night as he rode on towards the Elvaan capital of San d'Oria.

Night crept unsuspectedly upon the Elvaan nation of San d'Oria, mothers ushered their children indoors for dinner, the working men and women locked up their shops and began to trudge home to their families. A lone figure stood beneath the moon light next to the grand fountain of Northern San d' Oria. A tall Elvaan man with jet black hair and kind eyes stood next to the fountain gazing at it longingly as if he just wanted to slip away into the silvery depths of the water. He had been waiting for someone since sunset, people had asked him if he was homeless and he just meekly replied that he was waiting for someone. Exhausted from waiting for a person who might never show he turned his back and began to walk away back toward his house. "Wait!" The Elvaan thought he heard someone shouted in the distance. He stopped briefly but dismissed the voice thinking he was hearing things after waiting so long. "Wait!" There it was again only a little louder, but the Elvaan kept walking. He was just about to enter his mog house when something hit him in the head. "Ouch!" He exclaimed massaging the now sore spot on his head. He looked around on the ground to see what had hit him he found a lone stone. He picked it up "I thought I asked you to wait." a voice came from behind. The Elvaan turned around and saw a Tarutaru bathed in the moonlight tossing a stone up in the air and catching it. "I know I'm terribly late but I have an excuse for that! Oh and I'm Sogre, the one Ban asked you to escort safely through the Ranguemont Pass." The Elvaan laughed at the emphasis the Tarutaru put on the word "safely" "I see so you're the one. Well shall we make haste? No I don't want to hear your excuse right now there will be time for that later when we return. Oh yes my name is Reaulece." Sogre and Reaulece gathered their supplies and made their way towards the dreaded Ranguemont Pass.

The Ranguemont Pass is the only link connecting the mainlands with the icelands and as such it can be quite dangerous for those unprepared. Sogre and Reaulece approached the cavern, a terrible stench came from within. Reaulece and Sogre (although reluctant at first) stepped into the cavern. The pass was dark, dank and dingy Sogre did not like it one bit, he rather liked the sunlight and the crisp breeze blowing in his face he definately did not want to linger here more than necessary. Sogre and Reaulece crept quietly through the cave with the aid of a magic spell so that not even a blind man with the keenest of hearing could detect them. Sogre lighted the way with his magic keeping them out of the dark and driving away the cold as well. Throughout the ordeal the two did not talk much unless it was Reaulece telling Sogre which way to travel (looking at his map first of course.) They had been walking for what felt like hours when Sogre asked Reaulece to take a break so he could rest and recover his strength. "We can rest for a while." Reaulece said collecting moss and what ever else he could find in the cave to make a fire, once gathered into a pile he spoke a few words of magic and almost instantly a roaring fire was created. "Wow so you're a magician I take it." Sogre said looking quite impressed at Reaulece's mastery of fire. "Yes, I've been studying it for years but there is still much for me to learn." The two adventurers sat around the fire for a while and talked about miscellaneous matters from the weather to where they grew up. Reaulece pulled out his map and announced that they were almost to the exit.

"Reaulece...do you hear that?" Sogre said with some fear in his voice. Reaulece looked around in the darkness and strained his ears to hear what Sogre was talking about. "It sounds...like...flapping wings. A bat perhaps? Nothing to be afraid of I'm sure." He concluded as he stood up and extinguished the fire with another word of magic. Sogre and Reaulece resumed their hike after their short rest. "Are you sure its nothing to be afraid of I can hear it getting louder and louder..." Sogre said concerned. "I'm sure that we're going to be o...oh no." Reaulece turned around to comfort Sogre's fear but instead of soothing his friend's fear he only realized his own. "Run!" Reaulece commanded and together they both sprinted towards the exit. When Reaulece turned around he had seen a barrage of bats closing in on them, they were not normal every day bats no these bats were touched by evil and had been atleast double the size and twice as viscous as a normal bat. They ran trying to ignore the sound of flapping wings which was undoubtedly getting louder and louder.

At one point in the break to freedom Sogre somehow (amazed to even himself) tripped or slipped on some loose rock and he took a fall. "Help!" He called out to Reaulece. The Elvaan stopped and turned around and saw the train of bats dive down upon his friend. A force inside of him took over and he found himself speaking words which he didn't know, he was casting a spell that lay hidden deep within him. With a fury that was not his he unleashed his spell and a deep slumber befell the bats. Sogre sat up thinking he had died but was relieved to find that he only had a few minor cuts and bruises. "Sogre create a barrier around us this could get ugly." Reaulece instructed, Sogre nodded and cast a barrier of light around himself and Reaulece to ward of enemy attacks. Reaulece again started to cast a spell what happened next is too horrifying to describe and it will haunt Sogre in his dreams for many weeks yet to come.

Sogre and Reaulece stepped out into the cold desolate icelands the chilly air nipping at their faces. "Sogre now take out the gem." Sogre reached into his pack and pulled out the blood red stone. Once more he heard the voice calling out to him:

_"Sogre now that you have the power of the seven lights return the stone to its place in La Theine Plateau...hurry my power dwindles even as we speak."_

Then there was nothing. The voice stopped speaking and all that Sogre held in his hand was a red ruby. "Well did it work?" Reaulece asked. "I...think so but now I have one more task to do. I need to bring the stone to the La Theine Plateau."

Once they had reached San d'Oria Sogre thanked Reaulece as they parted ways undoubtedly to meet again in the future. Sogre then made his way to the La Theine Plateau to confront the being within the gem. Once inside the Plateau Sogre felt the gem pulsating from within his pack, he took it out to examine it. The gem was glowing a brilliant red glow, it no longer felt like a jewl it felt warm as if it were alive. The glowing persisted and grew brighter and brighter. "Well I'm here now what do I do." Sogre sighed exasperated. Then as if it answered his question the jewl began to float and then raced across the night sky illuminating the way for Sogre.

The gem had led him to an area filled with ancient magic. Stone pillars from an civilization lost lined around the center of this secluded area. It was obvious that noone ever came to this part of the Plateau. Sogre approached the glowing jewl in the sky then in a flash of white light the blue fox-rabbit creature that had visited him in his dreams had finally appeared. "Hello Sogre. I am known as Carbuncle, guardian of the rainbows and overseer of Vana 'diel. I know you have many questions but there is little time the fate of Vana 'diel is now in your hands." The creature's voice was calm and soothing. "Why me?" Sogre asked. "You are a descendant of an ancient people young Tarutaru. You come from a family rich in magic. You are a Summoner; one who makes pacts with the avatars on Vana 'diel so that he or she may fight alongside them in the epic battle for peace." "Why did you need me to gather the elemental power?" Sogre asked interested in what the creature had to say. "I needed the power of the elements to appear in this world, I had hoped that one day someone would come accross one of my jewls and bring hope back to this world. Now I shall give you my power, return to Windurst and seek the minister he shall assist you further in your quest. You are the hero of legend, you are Vana 'diel's only hope." With that being said Carbuncle leapt into the sky and projected a light from the ruby in the center of his head downward on Sogre. Sogre was bathed in prismatic light and recieved the blessing of Carbuncle, a new type of power burned inside of him he could feel it. With a renewed resolve Sogre made his way back to Jeuno and thus his adventure truely began.

**Final Fantasy XI: Sogre's Story 2003-2006**

--Argos of Bahamut

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	5. The Story Begins

The Story Begins

_Now you know the tale of the hapless Sogre, how one Tarutaru was swept up in a series of whirlwind events that changed his life beyond his wildest imagination. He met several new people throughout his ordeal. His two best friends Gehe and Mixo one of which he betrayed, the crafty Koud, Ban the jack of all trades, and the sorcerer Reaulece among others. He traveled farther than he had before starting off in his beloved homeland of Windurst and ultimately traversing half the globe. He encountered dangerous monsters and triumphed over all of them with the aid of his comrades. Now he has been called upon by Carbuncle the overseer of the world to save not only his homeland but all of Vana'diel. _

_Sogre's final encounter with Carbuncle gave him unimaginable power. He became known as a Summoner; one who forges pacts with the gods of the world and calls upon their strength to fight along side of him in battle. For eons Summoners have protected Vana 'diel resurfacing when the world was in dire peril then once again fading into the winds. Sogre has taken up his responsibility as one of the chosen few to restore balance to his world. _

Sogre ventured back to his home of Windurst with his newly found power. The Tarutaru was tired, his feet sore, his clothes tattered, every breath being more painful than the last. There were times in his travels where he almost wished for death the pain was unbearable. "Return to Windurst and seek out the minister." Were the words Carbuncle spoke to Sogre as he faded back into the clouds, Sogre realized that he no longer has a choice in the matter he must return to his homeland to confront his past and to embrace his future.

It was half past midnight when the rain started to pour over the Federation of Windurst. The water beat down upon the federation with a vengeance as if some unknown god or goddess were unleashing their wrath down upon the inhabitants. In his house an old Tarutaru sat in his study furiously tearing through books to uncover the meaning of what he saw a few weeks ago. It had been an ordinary morning, he woke up and went for his usual stroll around Windurst-Walls when he spied something most peculiar. He saw a Tarutaru enter the forbidden House of the Hero! "Preposterous! Nobody-wody could remove Doctor Shantotto's barrier!" he thought to himself, being naturally curious he walked briskly towards the house his azure robes flapping at his tiny feet. He peered inside of the cracked door and sure enough there _was_ someone there! A Tarutaru who was just entering into his adult years was standing there, his clothes were caked in dust and mud and his hair was a most unusual color it was silver! There was something else strange about this Tarutaru, he held something in his hand but the old one couldn't really tell what it was then the room flashed with a blood red color and the Tarutaru began to gaze intently at the object he held in his palm. The old one decided that he had to preserve the sanctity of the Hero's house so he too entered the home everyone believed to be cursed. "You! What-taru are you doing-woing herey-weary?" The old Tarutaru said. The younger Tarutaru spun around with a look of fear on his face. "I am Ajido-Marujido minister of magic in Windurst. Now I askey-asked you a question-taru!" Marujido spoke obviously annoyed. Marujido advanced a few steps towards the young Tarutaru who in turn began to back up tripping over a broomstick and falling to the floor, the object he held in his hand falling as well. Marujido advanced towards the jewl in the middle of the floor and then there was a flash of light. "Its…can it-taru be?" Marujido thought as he picked up the tiny ruby in his little hand. "This is Carbuncle's Ruby!" he exclaimed with sheer delight in his voice. "You know what this is?" The young Tarutaru asked as he helped himself to his feet. "It's the legen-wegendary ruby that's said to hold Carbuncle captive-waptive!" Ajido-Marujido exclaimed excitedly. "You can hear his cries for helpy-help can'taru you?" The old minister asked as he walked closer to the younger Tarutaru. "I uh guess so…" The Tarutaru replied sheepishly trying to lower his face away from the intent gaze the minister was giving him. "You must release Carbuncle from his prison!" The young Tarutaru was clearly taken aback he was so nervous that he backed into a nearby bookcase nearly knocking it on top of him, Marujido merely laughed. The old minister turned to leave and said in a serious tone as he closed the door "Go exposey-wose that ruby to the seven color-wolors of light and rescue Carby-warby."

Ever since that day Marujido had been seeking answers as to why Carbuncle appeared to someone who was…less than worthy. He concluded that if the world was in such dire peril then Carbuncle could not be too picky on who would rise to restore balance. "The trials and tribulations of being a Summoner were arduous…" Marujido thought to himself as a knock came to his door. "Who could that-taru be?" The old minister thought as he closed his book and went to the door. He pulled the metal ring to his solid oak door and with some effort he opened it a crack. Outside he saw a soaking wet Tarutaru but it wasn't just any Tarutaru it was a Tarutaru with silver hair!

Sogre and Ajido-Marujido spoke much later into the night sitting in two very comfortable chairs next to the crackling fireplace. "So you have been blessed by Carbuncle." Ajido-Marujido finally said after many long minutes after Sogre told his story. "Yes, Carbuncle told me that I must become a Summoner in order to defeat the oncoming darkness." Sogre said sipping at the tea Ajido-Marujido had given him to warm himself up. The old minister rose to his feet and gazed out the window for long moments before he spoke. "There is little I can teach you I'm afraid but-taru from these ancient scripts I can teach you how to harness the little power you posses now. Are you willing to learn?" Sogre stood up and put down his tea cup. "On my brief travels to uncover the mystery of this jewel I have met some wonderful people and have gained a lot of experience only to be swept up into this set of events that could destroy the world. I have decided that I will train and go through the trials of becoming a Summoner so please Ajido-Marujido teach me what you can."

_From this moment onward Sogre trained day after day not only in the summoning arts but also in the art of self survival. Through many hours of study and conversing with Carbuncle Sogre managed to pass every test that was put in front of him. But there is much for him to learn and little time. The final task Ajido-Marujido gave Sogre was to find the other sleeping gods of Vana 'diel and awaken them to receive their blessing before time was up and the world was once again plunged into darkness._


	6. Guardian

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5

_Guardian:_

_The Noble Knight of Darkness_

_This is the tale of a warrior who gave himself to the darkness but retained a fragment of the light. This is his struggle to find out who he is and his struggle for freedom._

Winter in Vana 'diel can be very harsh on those who are not use to the cold; it tests not only your physical limits but also your mentality as well. Many brave warriors travel to the Northlands to put their bodies to the test but few come back, most fall prey not to the fiends but to the intensity of the weather. This winter morning a young Hume man awoke to the sound of the rooster. He stirred in his bed; he did not want to leave its warm sheets to go outside in cold to practice his swordsmanship. This Hume had been asleep for a long time and it was time for him to wake up. Prestlisev or Prest as his friends called him unwillingly woke up. He got dressed in regular clothes picked up his iron sword and left his mog house.

The air in Bastok was cold and frigid, breathing hurt because the air was so sharp. The wind blew in his face messing up his hair, Prest spent three hours trying to get his brown hair to spike up with gel it looked good for a while but the wind was so strong it blew his hair even though there was half a tub of gel in it. Prest walked around Bastok Markets looking for a place to find a hot meal or even just a hot place. He walked down the street and saw many children building snow men from the snow that had blanketed the city over night. Yule time was still quite a ways away, however, the president's men were already setting up a great tree in the center of Bastok Markets to act as the Yule tree. After wondering the town for a while finding every pub and restaurant in Bastok closed Prest reluctantly headed for the city gates to begin his job.

_Prest had always dreamt of being a great warrior like those that everyone hears about in legends and stories. Unfortunately for Prest he did not do too well in the military academy and was rejected from the Republic's army but as a consolation prize they did set him up as a squire to an Iron Musketeer, similar to the War Warlocks in Windurst the Iron Musketeers guard the city gates against intruders. Prest's master decided to give all his duties to Prest while he collected the bounty. This did not please Prest but with times being hard and gil was scarce he had little choice but to accept the job and earn his meager wage. Normally Prest did not have much excitement at his job; all the fiends were long gone due to the unnatural winter in Bastok. Bastok is a very dry and airy region so for there to be snow even around Christmas is remarkable._

"I hate this bloody job." Prest thought as he took his position outside the gate. "One day I'll go up to Iron Muskrat and tell him that he can shove this bloody job right up his bloody arse." thought Prest angrily. He leaned up against the gate looking at the Gustabeg, it was a very unfamiliar sight. The entire desert region of Gustaberg that surrounded Bastok was covered in a sheet of snow and ice. "Damn what's up with this bizarre weather?" Prest said aloud. "Hmm what is it Hun?" a female voice from behind asked. This caught Prest off guard because he didn't even realize he was talking aloud let alone talking aloud to himself. He turned around and saw the other gate guardian, an elder Hume woman named Katarina, despite her age she had the body of a goddess. Her auburn hair pulled into a small pony tail in the back excited Prest. "Oh hello Katarina I didn't see you there." He said stammering for words. Katarina laughed lightly "Ahaha yes I could tell." She said flashing him a crooked smile. Prest blushed a little bit. They talked for a little while but then Katarina bid him farewell seeing as she was on an important mission to see the consulate of Bastok in Jeuno. "Oh god how I envy her, she gets to leave and go do something other than waiting here for all hell to freeze over." Prest thought bitterly but then the memory of her smile made him content.

Prest stood at his post all day and well into the night, his relief never came. Prest at this point was very agitated, he stood at the gate all day long and nothing exciting happened, he had hoped Katarina would be back but she hadn't returned from Jeuno yet. Prest was getting ready to leave when he heard an unmistakable shriek for help. Prest drew his blade and ran towards the shriek, it grew louder and louder until he saw a young Elvaan cleric being attacked by a Galka. "Hey you stop!" Prest shouted at the Galka. The hulking beast turned towards Prest, the Galka was wearing the armor of an Iron Musketeer but he still wore his helmet so Prest could not make out his face. The Galka turned around and drew his blade; it was so large that he had to hold it with two hands. Prest at this point nearly shit his pants, if he was hit with that then he was done for. Prest told the young Elvaan woman to stay back, she obeyed and crawled away in the snow; there was a puddle of blood where she was sitting. The Galka charged at Prest and swung his sword, Prest jumped out of the way, if he had tried to parry the Galka might have cut his blade in half. Prest tried to think of a way to get away from his assailant but there was no way out he would have to fight his comrade. The Galka swung his sword again narrowly missing Prest, in the delay of the swing the Galka left his side open to an attack; Prest saw this and drove his sword deep into the Galka's side right in between the leather straps holding his breast plate up. Blood gushed from the wound and the Galka howled in pain and fury. Prest twisted the hilt of his sword and kicked off of the Galka, his entire arm and sword blade were drenched in warm, sticky, hot blood. The Galka fell to the ground, the blood continued to flow onto the snow. Prest was breathing heavily trying to comprehend what had just happened and what he just did then he heard the Elvaan crying. "Damn it! I almost forgot about her." He thought, angry with himself. He ran over to her and knelt down beside her "Are you ok Miss…" "Callista." The young woman replied through her tears. "What happened?" Prest asked talking to her in a calm and caring voice. "I was attacked by fiends on my way here, you see I'm a noble from San'd Oria coming to see the president of Bastok on a visit. I called for help as my guards were quickly disposed of and this kind Galka came and killed the fiends that had plagued me." Callista said choking back tears; her elegant white gown was covered in blood and tears. "What happened next Miss?" Prest said and at that Callista burst into tears of which no level of comforting could stop her. She managed to stop crying so she could tell him what happened. "Well we started walking towards the city and I made a comment about the lighthouse he asked me if I wanted to go see it, naively I said 'yes.' When we got there I was looking over the cliff then all of a sudden Iron Muskrat turned around and started talking to himself…" Callista said bursting into tears once more. "Did you say Iron Muskrat?" Prest said unsure of what he just heard Callista nodded. He walked over to the corpse and removed the helmet and to his horror he saw the lifeless eyes of his commander Iron Muskrat staring right back at him. Prest let out a scream, now horrified at what he'd done. Prest sank to his knees and wept. Later he would learn that Iron Muskrat had been possessed by a spirit and under that influence he raped Callista.

The next few weeks seemed all but a blur to Prest, he no longer smiled or laughed. He went to his job every day with out complaint even in the fiercest of blizzards. Although the Republic granted him a pardon for the death of Iron Muskrat he could not help but feel that it was his fault, his comrades stopped talking when ever he drew near and his beloved Katarina would tremble when ever he approached her. Prest was officially broken. He felt no more joy in his life, at night all he had were nightmares of that fateful night where his world was turned upside down.

One night Prest had a dream or rather a nightmare, he was standing on top of a castle in the Northlands. The castle was very tall seeing as when he looked over the ledge he saw the clouds. In the center of the tower he was standing on was a circle drawn in what looked like blood. Prest approached the circle and once he stepped in he could not exit. Prest wondered what was going on but when ever he tried to speak his mouth uttered no words. Prest was not alone in that circle. There was another figure standing across from him. It was a Galka, he was wearing the armor of a death knight. Prest looked at the Galka in total fear. The Galka spoke, "Prest you have stained your sword with the blood of an innocent. It was I who possessed Muskrat, you slain Muskrat with out thinking twice about it, I like that about you." The Galka took a step forward. "My name is Zeid. I am the founder of the Order of Death Knights, once we flourished across the land but now since the Crystal War has come to an end we are few. You have what it takes to inherit the sword of darkness." Zeid took another step towards Prest. "You can either accept your fate or you can be twisted by it and used as the next shell for my spirit." Zeid pointed at Prest and Prest's body knelt despite what his mind wanted. "I can see into your heart and I see the hatred you have for the Iron Musketeers and your job, I can also see the love you have for a certain someone, it would be a pity if some misfortune befell her." At those words Prest flashed Zeid a look of intense anger and hatred. "Yes hate me my young apprentice. I want you to come to the mines tomorrow when you awaken I have a gift for you." At those words the castle melted away and Prest fell into darkness deeper and deeper and deeper until that's all there was: darkness.

Prest woke immediately drenched in a cold sweat. Sweat trickled down his face and his chest, he was breathing heavily. He looked around his room nothing seemed out of the ordinary then he shifted his gaze towards the window it was snowing harder, ice had begun to form around the buildings. Prest got dressed as if he were in a trance, controlled by an unknown puppet master, Prest left his mog house with out his sword, he did not even make a sound as he closed the door.

The cold no longer bothered him; the wind no longer was a hindrance. Prest walked through Bastok Markets and through the archway that lead to the mines. It was very early in the morning so no one was awake to see him. He entered the mines and climbed the ladders that lead into Korroloka. Prest continued walking the fiends did not even pay him a second glance. Prest walked in and took a sharp left then a sharp right, he came to a rickety old boat docked at a pier. Any normal person would never have gotten on it in a million years but at this moment Prest was unaware of what he was doing, it was as if he was trapped in some sort of dream world. Prest sat down in the boat; the boat had taken off once Prest sat down. The ride was very brief it only took him down river a little bit. Once docked Prest stood up, a Galka wearing death knight armor emerged from the shadows.

The puppet master's hold on the puppet faded. "What the, where the hell am I?" Prest thought out loud as he looked around, his last memory being going to sleep in his nice warm bed, Prest did not even noticing the death knight standing before him. "I summoned you." A raspy voice from underneath the black helmet said. "I called you here to bestow upon you the sword of darkness my apprentice." Zeid handed Prest a long slender rusty sword. "Although it may not look powerful it has tremendous power. Once bathed in the blood of innocence it will unlock the power that lies dormant within you." Prest marveled at the craftsmanship of the sword it was indeed ancient. Prest nodded to his master. "When you get on that boat you will awaken to find yourself in bed, you will then arm yourself with that sword and go kill what ever is outside your door then bring it back here to me." Zeid said, he handed Prest a vial full of black liquid. "Drink that when you enter that realm it will give you protection while sealing your foe's fate." Zeid said and then he returned to the shadows from whence he came. Prest got back on that rickety little boat and then everything went black.

Prest emerged from his slumber disoriented; all he could recall was something about a death knight and a sword of darkness. Prest sat up in bed and was amazed to find a vial of black liquid on his table and an ancient slender looking sword leaning against his bed post. Prest immediately recalled everything. He quickly got dressed equipped his new sword and then looked at the vial. Prest was in no rush to drink what ever it was, for all he knew it was poison. He uncorked the top of the vial and took a deep whiff of its contents, "Strange "he thought. It smelled like sand. Prest drank the black liquid, once it touched his lips it instantly lost its liquid quality, he felt as if he was drinking sand but he obeyed Zeid's command and drank every last drop. The liquid warmed his body and gave him a massive migraine that lasted a few minutes, when the migraine had struck him it felt as if he was being torn apart in side and then he was given a big jerk as his muscles contracted and then, it stopped. When Prest came to his senses he opened the door to his mog house and stepped outside into the darkness.

The streets were overrun with Quadav, an over grown like turtle beastman, and the sun was eclipsed by the moon. What was even stranger was that there was no snow on the ground; Bastok looked like it did when in the prime months of summer except that there was a solar eclipse and the town was overrun with beastmen. "Oh shit." Was all that Prest could say as he saw his home being ravaged by Quadav. Prest lost all control over himself in that instant. He stormed down the steps swinging his sword wildly. He took the head off a nearby Quadav then lunged at another walking by. Soon all the Quadav in the town were surrounding him. Prest fought each one, as they fell and their blood bathed the sword of darkness Prest could feel his own power growing. After slaying a small group of young Quadav Prest lost himself to the darkness. After the streets were lined with corpses and he was bathed in blood Prest stopped, nothing was left to kill everything was dead. He sank to his knees and wept.

"_Am I still me?"_

_"Who am I?"_

_"I'm so cold."_

_"What is this place?"_

_"I won't let his darkness consume me."_

Prest let out a cry, calling upon the goddess Altana to save him. "Goddess please, have pity upon me."

"_Prestlisev…I hear your prayers, as long as you rely upon that sword of darkness you will never be yourself. I'm afraid that the Prestlisev you once were is no more, you have been consumed by darkness."_

Prest's heart dropped when he heard the goddess' divine voice ring in his head. "Zeid! Show yourself to me!" Prest called his voice echoing through the deserted town. "Yes my young apprentice?" Zeid responded emerging from the shadows. "There" Prest said flinging the sword at Zeid. "Your sword has been bathed in the blood of the innocent of this world. I no longer need nor desire it." Prest said. "You insolent bastard!" Zeid roared. "I heard your desires for power; I gave you the choice you chose to walk down this path yourself!" Prest turned around "Yes I did. I have unlocked the power that dwelled inside of me and as a result I will no longer be the person I once was. I can accept that but I will never accept you!" Prest shouted. Zeid raised his hand and a burst of dark thunder emerged from his finger tips and shot Prest in the back, Zeid laughed as Prest howled in pain. "You can never escape from the darkness my apprentice, some day you will learn and just so others know your treachery I give to you the dark mark upon your breast!" Zeid said as the world they were in began to blur before Prest's eyes as it swirled into darkness.

Prest stirred in his bed, the sun's light crept into his dark room through the window blinds. He stirred once more then sat up and yawned, he scratched his head. He looked down and saw the mark of a black viper across his breast, he felt it with his fingers; it hurt to touch. Prest looked out his window and the snow and ice were gone, it was as if they had never been. He smiled to himself knowing that he conquered the darkness that nearly consumed him but how long; he wondered would his peace last before he succumbs to the darkness in his heart once more.

"Master! Kupo." His moogle said, "You have a letter! Kupopo." The moogle handed him a letter with the presidential seal on it. Prest read the letter then crumpled it up; it told him that his position was moved to the consulate of Bastok in Jeuno. Prest packed his things and he left at once, he stepped out into the warm sunlight that covered Bastok and wondered when the last time he was truly content with his life.

_Prest rode a chocobo to Jeuno, there he spent many months working at the consulate doing odd jobs left and right yet Katarina was nowhere to be found. One day Prest received a letter from a being he thought was long gone from his life. Zeid had found him once more. Prest looked at the letter and it beckoned him to go to Beaudeaux in the Pashow Marshlands. At first Prest did not want to go but then he realized that he needed closure and to rid himself of that curse once and for all. He left for the marsh at once._

The ride to the marsh took but a few hours, when he entered the marsh he was not surprised to see that it was raining since it usually rains on the marshlands. Prest rode his chocobo through the Quadavs mowing them down to protect his steed. Prest was getting nauseous with anticipation, he kept wondering what would happen when he found Zeid? Would Zeid kill him? Posses him? Torture him like he did in that shadow world? Prest could not fathom in mind what potential horrors awaited him. Suddenly Prest heard a thud and a very loud "OUCH!" He stopped his chocobo at once and investigated the problem. Underneath the big yellow chicken like bird he saw a small Tarutaru mage all bruised from the collision. "Oww…" the little Tarutaru moaned, "that hurt…" Prest helped him to his feet and asked if he was alright but the Tarutaru was still a little disoriented from the accident. "Shit, I'm going to be late but I can't leave this little guy alone like this the fiends will get him." Prest said. He asked the Tarutaru what his name was and he said "Sogre" then proceeded to pass out. Prest put him on the chocobo with him and rode off towards the Quadav stronghold that is Beaudeaux.

Prest tied the chocobo to a tree outside Beaudeaux and he entered alone. Shortly after walking in he saw the death knight Zeid. Prest approached Zeid "What do you want from me?" Prest demanded. Zeid turned around slowly and looked at his 'apprentice' in the eyes. "I have come to claim what is mine; your soul." Prest looked shocked and tried to run but he could not, for the first time in his life he felt absolute sheer terror. He could move nothing; he could not even find the strength to look away from the approaching death knight. Zeid crept closer and closer and closer until Prest could feel his breath upon his face. Then Zeid backed away. The little Tarutaru Prest had brought with him entered and was confused as to what was happening; at his side was a little blue fox-squirrel like animal with a glowing red ruby in the center of its forehead. "Uh did I interrupt something?" The little Tarutaru inquired looking from the immobilized Prest to the ghastly death knight. Prest tried to tell the Tarutaru to run away but the words could not form from his dry lips. Sogre realized that something was wrong when he saw that the death knight did not have a shadow, soon he put two and two together and realized that this Hume warrior that had trampled him with a chocobo was in danger. Sogre commanded his pet to attack the death knight but to no avail the creature could not touch the shadow. Zeid laughed at Sogre's feeble attempt "You can not hurt me silly fool! I am a shadow not living nor dead. I can not be hurt." Sogre realized what he must do; he took out a medallion from under his robe and clutched it in his hand tightly while praying. The jewl began to glow white, brighter and brighter until Zeid was blinded by the light. "Carbuncle! Charge Searing Light!" Sogre commanded as he pointed the medallion at Carbuncle. The creature now known as Carbuncle leapt into the air and the ruby on his head glowed, he pointed his head towards the sun then back down at Zeid. A pillar of pure light engulfed Zeid and Prest, Sogre could hear Zeid's screams of pain. After the light faded Sogre sent Carbuncle away and approached Prest. "Are you ok?" he inquired. Prest nodded, Zeid's control over his body was gone. "Where are you headed little mage?" Prest asked. "Oh I'm walking back to Jeuno." Sogre replied. "I am as well, as payment for saving me from that spook I'll give you a lift on my chocobo and I promise I won't run you over again." Prest said smiling. Sogre agreed and the two walked out of Beaudeaux and got on the chocobo and set off towards Jeuno.

_Upon reaching Jeuno they parted ways but they did agree to keep in touch with one another after all as a weak mage Sogre could always use a guardian and Prest needed light so he wouldn't fall prey to the darkness once more._

**Final Fantasy XI: Sogre's Story 2003-2006**

--Argos of Bahamut


	7. Encounter

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6

_Encounter:_

_Min the Benevolent _

_Summer time in Vana 'diel, a peaceful time of the year, it was this summer in which dear Sogre met an invaluable ally: Elmini aka Min the Benevolent _

It was a quiet day in Jeuno, the usual hustle and bustle of the city and the plethora of adventurers passing in and out. Sogre exited his mog house and took a stroll down the street to the local café for a quick lunch before he set off on an adventure of some sort. "I'd like a fried Popoto please and a glass of Pear au lait." Sogre asked the Elvaan that was at the counter. "Ok sir that will be 200 gil." Sogre's last job paid well so he was able to afford the meal not that 200 gil was a lot of money, due to the recent inflation 200 gil was easy to come by. Sogre sat down at a table in the corner of the café and waited for his meal to arrive. While he waited he read the Tribune.

_The Tribune is Vana 'diel's most popular news magazine, it was made strictly for adventurers so they can keep up with what faction found what treasure and what faction discovered a secret area._

Sogre flipped through the paper and noticed that it was Hume female week at the tailor's. The local tailor shop has a contest every week in which they hide somewhere deep in a cavern a magical pattern that fits whomever finds it and this week they hid a Hume female pattern in Ordelles Cavern located in the La Theine Plateau. After a couple of minutes the Elvaan brought him his food and drink, Sogre put away his copy of the Tribune he thought he might look at it later but in all probability he wouldn't. Sogre ate his food and as he was leaving the café his bum started to ring. Sogre answered his cell phone, on the other end was his friend Prestlisev; Prest for short. "Hey Sogre what's up mate?" Prest said, he sounded like he was in a cheerful mood this morning. "Oh nothing, I was actually about to look for a job to do, what are you up to today?" Sogre responded as he walked back to his mog house in Lower Jeuno. "Well you see I just met two lovely ladies Ty and her sister Elmini, they asked me if I could help them with that magical pattern in Ordelles would you care to help?" Sogre thought about this for a moment, he could either go earn some spare gil or help some girls his friend just met. Seeing as he would rather go help a friend he told Prest that he would help out with the pattern and that he would see them shortly. "Thanks mate!" Prest said as he hung up. Sogre began to ask around to see if anyone was running a taxi service that day and sure enough he found someone who was rather famous for "tele-taxing" adventurers around. Sogre found Jellsica in her usual spot; standing outside the mog house area. "Bonjour monsieur! Where to zis lovely day?" she asked smiling as Sogre. "La Theine Plateau please." Sogre said hanging her 500 gil. "Ok! Stand close to me please." She said through her thick accent. Sogre stood next to her as she began to chant a teleportation spell that would warp them to La Theine Plateau. When she cast the spell the area around them that was Lower Jeuno started to melt away and Sogre felt as if he was suddenly jerked backwards very quickly. It was a rather unpleasant feeling but it was a quick form of travel even if it did leave the caster and the traveler a little drained. Within seconds the grasslands of the Plateau materialized in front of Sogre. They had landed in the center of the Plateau at the Crag of Holla. Sogre said his thanks as he walked down the stone steps of the altar as Jellsica waved good bye and chanted another spell that would return her back to Jeuno.

For a change the weather in the Plateau was actually stable, usually it's either very windy or raining but today it was nice and sunny. Sogre made his way to the north western area of the Plateau; he passed many flowers and rarabs along his way.

_When he was very young Sogre had a pet rarab he named it Rara but one day it got out of its cage and ran away on him. Sogre cried for a week until a Mithra named Mixo found him in the ruins outside of Windurst, they had been friends ever since that moment until they were separated many months ago. _

Shortly after his arrival at the crag Sogre called Prest and told him that he was on his way and that it would be nice of them to wait at the entrance to the cave. Prest agreed and said that they would wait at the beginning of the cave for Sogre. The cave itself was created in a crack in the Plateau, so in order to enter the cave Sogre had to climb down the rock formation that was near the cave. Sogre approached the crack in the ground carefully, if he stepped on a loose rock he would go for one hell of a ride down the small cliff.

Sogre climbed down the ledge carefully going very slowly and ultimately getting down the cliff in one piece. Sogre approached the cave and a few bats flew out of the darkness which, seemed to snuff out life and envelop the entire area into complete and total darkness. Sogre cast Dia and his hand began to glow so he could see two inches in front of him, as he entered the cave the light from his spell molested the bats that were sleeping in the cave and they began to attack him. Sogre was swatting the bats away while praying to his guardian to come and save him. Then, the bats stopped. Sogre opened his eyes and saw his guardian Carbuncle, embodiment of light, standing in front of him looking at him caringly as the corpses of the bats lined the floor. "Thanks Carby." Sogre said as he patted Carbuncle on the head relieved that he came when he was needed.

"_As long as you need me I will be there to protect you master."_

"Sogre! You alright mate?" Prest came running up to Sogre from inside the cave. "Yeah I'm fine." Sogre said he then did a quick prayer for Carbuncle to leave and in a flash of white light Carbuncle was gone. "Where are the two ladies you talked about earlier?" Sogre inquired. "Over there, they're shy." Prest said nudging Sogre in the side. Out of the darkness emerged two beautiful Hume women. Both had jet black hair, one had hers pulled into a pony tail and the other had her hair cut short so it hung a little below her jaw line. The one with the pony tail took a step forward. "Hello Sogre, I'm Ty and this is my sister Elmini." Ty said motioning to the girl standing next to her. "Hi there, you can call me Min." Min said smiling at Sogre. "Ok then ladies, this is the name of the game, there is a treasure chest around here somewhere with that pattern in it but to open it we need to kill a fiend that has a key around its neck so lets split up and go get em!" Prest said. Ty and Prest went to the northern end of the cave where as Sogre and Min went towards the south. If anyone found anything they would call each other via cell phone.

Sogre and Min walked together and the two started to talk. "Where are you from Min?" Sogre asked. "I'm from Bastok." She replied. "Ahh, are you a master healer yet?" Sogre asked judging from her white robes. Min laughed a little bit. "No, I'm only an apprentice." "Hey look over there!" Sogre said pointing at a jelly monster. The jelly was a gelatin type monster, black in color that was squirming around and in the center of its body was a chest key. "Oh lets go get it!" Min said running towards the jelly as she drew her hammer. Sogre took out his staff and called out to his guardian for his aid. Carbuncle appeared in a flash of white light and began to attack the jelly. The jelly was immune to physical attacks Sogre realized. He realized this because when ever Min struck the fiend with her weapon it only left an impression but not a wound. "Hey Min watch this." Sogre said. "Carbuncle charge your poison nail attack." Carbuncle did as his master commanded, he leapt into the air and bared his claws then he came down and struck the monster's core, the jelly deflated and began to decompose rapidly. "Wow that was amazing!" Mn said astonished. "I wish I could do that." Sogre chuckled "Well maybe someday you can if you pass the trials, they aren't that easy mind you but if you're diligent and dedicated then I'm sure you can do it." He said as he reached for the key, then as he picked the key up the ground crumbled under their weight and he and Min fell into the depths of the cave.

Sogre got up, his body aching from the fall. They had fallen at least twelve feet. He tasted blood, when he fell Sogre busted his lip on a jagged rock. Sogre quickly forgot about his problems when he saw Min lying on the ground unconscious, he rushed to her side. "Min, are you ok? Please wake up." Sogre said with a hint of nervousness in his voice. Min stirred in his arms. "Uhh…Sogre what happened?" Sogre breathed a sigh of relief and he explained to her how the ground crumbled under their weight. "How are we going to get out of here?" Min asked looking around. They certainly were in a dilemma; the cave was dark, dank and full of fiends. The fiends on the upper level were not even a challenge to Sogre but he had never been to the bottom level before so the fiends down there could have been super powered for all he knew. "Sogre you're bleeding!" Min said when she noticed his lip bleeding. "Oh don't worry about it, its nothing." Sogre said wiping the blood off with the sleeve of his doublet. Min approached Sogre and put her hands on his face, her hands were warm and delicate, they were white like the purest porcelain no her hands were finer than porcelain, she was perfect. Min chanted a spell and the cut on Sogre's lip vanished. "Thanks Min." Sogre said blushing a little bit.

Sogre cast Dia and once more and light illuminated from his hand. They walked around examining their surrounding, Sogre and Min each tried to call Ty and Prest but to no avail, they were too deep in the cave. "Hmm I guess we just sit here and wait for someone to come find us." Sogre said as he sat down. Min reluctantly agreed, she did not like the darkness very much and it was becoming increasingly colder in the cave, Min cast an aura that would ward off the cold but that would only last for so long. Just as Min sat down Sogre got up excitedly and pointed to the corner of the cave. A treasure chest had appeared there. Min walked over to it excitedly and inside was two things: a magical pattern for Min and a letter addressed to Sogre. "This is very strange." Min said as she handed the envelope to Sogre. Sogre opened up the letter and read it, the color drained from his face instantly. Min asked him what was wrong and he showed her the letter it read:

'Sogre I will ruin your life as you ruined mine that fateful day. You will rue the day that you killed me, I will not stop until I find and kill you and your friends. You will pay for what you did to me.'

Min was horrified when she finished. "What does this mean?" Min asked. "I don't know, its signed "Heg" I don't know a Heg but he sure enough does not like me." Sogre said sounding troubled. Min saw that he was obviously disturbed by this threat and tried to comfort him. "Don't worry its probably just a really bad joke or something don't pay attention to it." She said patting him on the back. "Yeah you're right I'm not going to pay attention to a piece of paper." Sogre crumbled the letter up and flung it into the corner of the cave. Min and Sogre sat in the cold cave for what seemed like hours until Sogre heard someone calling out to him. "Hey! Sogre you down there?" It was Prest! Ty and Prest must have spent the entire day looking for them. "Yeah! Mins here as well, do you have rope or something to help us get out of here?" Sogre shouted. "One second." Prest replied. A couple minutes later a rope was thrown down and Sogre and Min climbed up it and soon enough all four of them were reunited. "Did you find your pattern Ty?" Min asked showing her pattern to her sister. "No, we found the chest but some stupid arse face pushed her down and opened it before she did." Prest said angrily. "Oh no." Min said, "Here Ty, take my pattern its ok." Min offered her magical pattern to her younger sister. "Thanks Min!" Ty said and the two sisters embraced one other.

The four friends began walking back to La Theine Plateau and on their way out they saw a chest materialize right in front of their faces. Ty walked over to the chest and opened it and inside was another pattern! Min claimed this pattern this chest only contained a pattern no threatening note addressed to Sogre or anything else out of the ordinary. They exited the cave and to their surprise the weather did not change at all, it was still nice and sunny out although the sun was starting to sink away. The two sisters thanked Prest and Sogre and each gave them a hug. "Hey Sogre thank you for helping us with this, I know it must have been a great inconvenience and I just want to say…I appreciate it a lot. I'm going to be studying in Jeuno for a while so if you're in the area please stop by the Bastokan Consulate and visit me." Min said then she gave Sogre a quick kiss on the cheek then the two sisters chanted the same spell Jellsica did earlier that day and in an instant the two benevolent angels were gone.

**Final Fantasy XI: Sogre's Story 2003-2006**

--Argos of Bahamut


End file.
